


The Rest is Silence

by Alinora



Series: The Music Series [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, F/M, Major Original Character(s), Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 09:16:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 47,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7885318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alinora/pseuds/Alinora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to The Magic of Music. It's 6 years since Alinora, George and the others left Hogwarts. They have successful careers, they're starting families and Voldemort is gone. Life should be great, but maybe things aren't quite as perfect as they seem...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Rest is Silence

**Author's Note:**

> Still a WIP, though I have not given up on finishing the story. I actually have an outline of what needs to happen, I just have to actually finish things.
> 
> Originally posted on FF.net sometime before July 2003
> 
> Original Author’s Notes: Hopefully you’ve already read my first story The Magic of Music. If you haven’t I suggest that you go do so, or this might not make as much sense. As you’ve probably guessed, this is the sequel.
> 
> As my first story took place during the year that has (finally) become The Order of the Phoenix, I plan to ignore most of what happened during that book, so, if you haven’t read it, there shouldn’t be many spoilers here, unless I had already planned to work a similar idea into my plotline.

##  **_Prologue: The Interview_ **

*********

 

**_Listening to the Sound of Sirens_ **

**_By Toni Nichols_ **

 

Since they burst onto the music scene three years ago, _The Sirens_ have been making music history. These three women, Alinora Roane, Ginny Weasley and Katie Bell, have gone a long way towards breaking society’s stereotypes of ‘girl groups’, touring and performing with such a variety of artists that the critics have finally had to give up on saying that “it’ll never work.” They’ve proven time and again that, for them, it does work- and they make it look easy.

 

Today, these amazing women have agreed to take time out of their hectic schedules to sit down with me and briefly discuss what the last couple of years have meant to them. When I arrived at the restaurant where we’d agreed to meet, I found them laughingly engrossed in a video game. Dressed casually in jeans and t-shirts, you’d never believe that they are the same glamorous women that we’ve seen on stage and in videos, and they turned out to be just as normal and down to earth as the clothing they were wearing.

 

 **Glamorous:** I’m glad you guys had the time to come talk to me today. You’ve been touring non-stop for years now, only taking minor breaks for relaxing and working on new material, but somehow you’ve kept up the pace. What’s it been like, achieving all this success while you’re all still barely in your 20’s?

 

 **Ginny Weasley:** Barely is right…

 

 **Katie Bell:** Hey, you got your birthday off!

 

 **Alinora Roane:** The pace can be grueling, but we’re doing something we love. These ladies are my family- my best friends- they make it fun and all worthwhile. Besides, our friends and families keep us grounded. When we do get home for visits, we still have chores to do and normal lives to live- we’re not famous to them. We don’t really care about the hype that goes along with the job, that’s not what’s really important in the long run. Life, having the people you love with you and making a difference in their lives… helps you keep your head on straight.

 

 **Glamorous:** You’ve mentioned many times before that the three of you are more family than friends. Have you known each other for a long time then?

 

 **KB:** Forever! Well, maybe not quite that long, but we did meet in school and have been friends since. We’ve gone through a lot together over the years and it’s only helped the friendship.

 

 **AR:** I don’t really have a family of my own anymore, as they all died when I was younger. I have made a habit of adopting people into my new family though, over the years, and these two are definitely my sisters, just as Colin has always been my brother- or at least since I met him.

 

 **Glamorous:** Colin Creevey? Your manager and PR person? He’s family too?

 

 **AR:** Yes, he’s my little brother- just ignore the height difference! He’s not very interested in the musical side of things, but he’s a wiz at marketing us. And since he is family; he looks after us quite well, leaving us to concentrate on the music.

 

 **KB:** Well, more like leaving Ali to concentrate- she hasn’t lead us wrong yet…

 

 **Glamorous:** Have you always wanted to be a part of the music industry?

 

 **KB & GW:** [pointing at Alinora] She has!

 

 **AR:** Ever since I can remember. Music has always been my life. If I’m not singing, I’m humming or I have songs running through my head- there’s a constant soundtrack running. I’m just lucky that these two agreed to join in the madness with me.

 

 **Glamorous:** So many artists have a problem making a name for themselves in one genre over the course of their career. How do you account for your success in such a wide variety of musical types?

 

 **GW:** Hard work. Ali’s been determined that we not get pigeonholed into one genre or another, so we’re constantly looking into other areas of music that we like and seeing what we can do there.

 

 **AR:** Most people, including ourselves, like many different types of music, so why should we be limited, or limit ourselves, to only playing one? Where’s the fun in that?

 

 **KB:** And if we’re not having fun, why do it? There are much more relaxing ways of living than constant touring!

 

 **Glamorous:** Makes sense to me. You’ve had the opportunity to work with a variety of artists and musicians over the years, which has definitely not hurt your careers, but with the hectic life you lead; do you have time to do much of your own song writing?

 

 **GW:** We do a lot of our own song writing- as much as we can, but half the fun of working with these amazing artists is being able to play with things that they’ve written as well. It helps broaden our musical background and it’s fun! It goes along with the fact that, though we play our own instruments whenever possible, with so many talented musicians out there, why should we always do it all by ourselves?

 

 **KB:** We certainly don’t feel the need to do everything ourselves- no need to recreate the wheel. And it keeps us from trying to do too much.

 

 **Glamorous:** Exactly. You’re about to start your latest U.S. tour after having been on the road for the past couple years. When are you going to be taking some real time off?

 

 **AR:** After this tour is over, we plan to stop for a while. We’ve only had time to make quick trips home over the past couple years to visit with our friends and family and we’re really looking forward to being able to spend some quality time with them that doesn’t involve writing long letters!

 

 **Glamorous:** Maybe take some time for a relationship or two…? You three are notoriously closed mouthed on that topic.

 

 **GW:** What’s there to say that the tabloids haven’t already made up?

 

 **KB:** According to them, we’ve been involved with just about every male we’ve had any contact with- up to and including Colin! It’s rather amusing, now that we’re used to it. We’ve started making bets as to who makes it into the papers next… and with whom.

 

 **Glamorous:** So, I’m not going to get any juicy gossip now, am I? No answer to the burning question on whether this mystery guy they’ve linked you to, Alinora, is real?

 

 **AR:** You mean _Fernando_? Well, if the tabloids have said it, then it must be true. They never lie, do they?

 

 **Glamorous:** No comment! I guess I’ll have to leave it at that. Thank you all for your time and good luck on tour, though I doubt the three of you will need it.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 1: It Begins_ **

*********

 

_The image was there just out of reach. The more she tried to get it, to see what it was, the more it slipped away from her. Finally, she sat down in the shifting landscape of her mind and waited. Slowly, it began to come closer- began to come into view… Soon, she’d be able to make out what it was and figure out the details of the message it contained. It was almost close enough, if she wasn’t distracted, if she could control the impulse to reach out too soon. Almost… there…_

 

“Ms Roane, you have flowers.”

 

The image shattered; gone before it could be fully viewed and Alinora tried not to groan as she reluctantly let go of the effort to understand her latest vision- or what passed as such for her. Opening her eyes, she looked up into the perpetually cheerful face of the group’s Stage Manager, Bob. Behind him, she could see Katie, shrugging apologetically that she’d arrived too late to stop the interruption.

 

Alinora slowly rose from the floor cushion she had been sitting on to meditate. “Thanks, Bob.” she said, finally looking at the flower arrangement he held. All the flowers were yellow- the color of caution. It seemed she wasn’t the only one having bad feelings about tonight…

 

Smiling, she took the flowers from him and bent to smell them. There was no note, the flowers never had one, but she knew whom they were from. Alinora and Katie watched in silence as Bob left the room to complete his pre-show duties.

 

“I’d really hoped that you were mistaken about the trouble predicted for tonight…” Katie said slowly, running her hand through her long blonde hair. “I should know by now that your feelings are always correct, but it’s our last show! We’re home now- our job was supposedly done- I don’t want to still be dealing with this here!” Katie’s frustration was obvious.

 

“And they’re coming to us- don’t forget that little detail,” another voice said. Turning, the two saw the third member of their group, Ginny, standing in the doorway, hands on her hips and brown eyes flashing. “I’d say that it appears our cover’s been blown, or that we’re at least highly suspected at this point. Why else would they be coming here, tonight?” Peering back through the open door to make sure they hadn’t been overheard, she shut it firmly and walked into the room to join the others.

 

“At least the others appear to be aware of what’s going on. That means we’ll have back up, eventually,” Alinora said with a wry grin, before burying her face in the flowers and closing her eyes for a moment. The others remained quiet, waiting for her to continue. Raising her head, she crossed the room to carefully place the flower arrangement on a table. Passing her hand over the tops of the flowers, she gave a rather goofy smile. He’d sent them personally; she could feel it…

 

Still smiling, Ali grabbed two pillows and tossed them to Katie and Ginny, before shifting hers over a bit so they would form a small circle once they were all seated. She resumed her seat on the floor. “Ready?”

 

Without a word, the other two settled themselves down as well. Once they were all seated, Katie cupped her hands in front of her, closed her eyes and bent her head in concentration. They’d seen her perform this spell many times over the past couple years, but it was still amazing to watch the glowing ball of light that formed within her grasp, before she flung it out so that it would expand and surround them all with a secure wall that they could not be spied on through.

 

Quirking an eyebrow at Alinora, Katie smirked as she lowered her hands to her lap. Ali grinned in response and stuck out her tongue as she began her portion of the spell. Humming softly under her breath, and ignoring Ginny’s snort at their behavior, Ali began to weave their cover. Releasing it into the room, they could all hear the faint murmur of voices surround them; though the words weren’t clear enough to be understood.

 

“So, what are we discussing tonight, Ali?” Ginny asked, straining to hear what the voices were saying, though she knew it was a lost cause.

 

“Same old stuff- song line up, what effects to use, whether Colin and Anna will have a boy or a girl… nothing too exciting.” Ali responded, smiling at the others. “So, what is the lineup for this evening? We’re down a body…” This time they knew she wasn’t referring to the songs they’d be performing.

 

Ginny considered the comment silently for a moment before nodding decisively. “Well, there’s really not much to change from our normal routine, though having to fight in front of an audience could be a bit of a distraction. As we’d originally planned, Katie and I will go out and mingle with the audience before the show begins; saying ‘Hi’ and thanking them for supporting the hospital fund. We’ll also scan them to see who’s here. It may be that we have friends in the audience… and maybe some of _them_ as well. We’ll compare notes before actually beginning.” She stopped and turned to look at Ali, who was grinning slightly, and inclined her head.

 

“I’ve been layering defensive spells throughout the place since I got the premonition. They’re all set to be triggered when we need them. My thought is simply to protect the audience, and, if possible, keep them from knowing anything’s going on at all. I also think we’d better plan on simply holding who ever shows up here tonight as well; no heroics, that’s not our job. We have backup coming…” Ali trailed off as she stopped to concentrate on the feeling she’d received upon seeing the flowers earlier. “George and the rest are coming, but he’d told me previously that they had a job tonight too and he wasn’t sure when they’d be finished. They won’t make it here before the attack begins, but they’ll be here soon enough afterwards that we won’t have to hold anyone for long.”

 

“Can you hold the audience and keep them from realizing what’s happening?” Katie asked quietly.

 

“As long as everyone shows up as expected, I shouldn’t have a problem. But it’ll be close- we can’t afford to waste any time. And if there is an agent in the audience, we’ll have to deal with them too. Maybe Ginny can blast them at the beginning of the fight and we can just ignore them?” Ali and Katie laughed while Ginny attempted to look angry, but failed miserably. Finally, she gave in and grinned back at them. She was more likely to attack first and worry about things later than the others…

 

“Anyway! Katie, you’re our personal defense tonight. I’ll deal with our attackers, but we’ll be depending on you to keep us all safe. I wish Colin were here to help, but Anna’s baby comes first and we know you can handle it. Hopefully, the first half of the show will be pretty uneventful, or at least nothing more stressful than normal. I suggest we all stay on stage though until everything’s been taken care of- no need to present too tempting a target. Ali, as soon as you think the time is right, signal for the start of _The Lament_ \- we’ll be waiting for the signal. Then we’ll strike. Try to give them as little of an advantage as possible. They have some idea of what we are, or they wouldn’t be coming at all, but hopefully they’ll still underestimate us.”

 

“I would like to know how our cover was blown.” Katie frowned. “We’ve been so careful, making sure that we couldn’t be directly connected to any of the people we’ve been involved in bringing down. When I think about all the Apparating we’ve done just to keep up the appearance that we’re completely consumed with our touring…”

 

“We have been completely consumed; we just have a rather demanding second job with the Order on top of it. I agree though, I’d like to know what we did, if anything, to make ourselves targets. With Moody being as hyper about secrecy as he is, I can’t see him allowing us to make any mistakes.” Ali shifted slightly on her cushion before shaking off her thoughts and looking around at the others. “Anything else to discuss, or can we break? I have a bit more to do before I’m ready to start, and you two have to get ready so you can go mix and mingle with our well paying guests.”

 

The concert the group was performing tonight was to raise donations for St. Mungo’s, whom they all had very personal reasons for being very thankful to. It was a shame the upcoming attack would mar a show they’d all been looking forward to, but hopefully things would be over quickly.

 

“I think that about covers it. We know the song line-up and Bob will have the stage set up before he leaves. We can seal the backstage area at that point so they can’t come in through there.”

 

“I agree. Let’s get moving. As Ali said, we still have some last minute details to finish with.” Katie gave Alinora a questioning look. Alinora held up a finger to stop her from moving and quickly ended the ‘White Noise’ charm she’d put up to cover their discussion. When she was done, Katie spread wide her hands, lowered her head and closed her eyes in concentration. Slowly drawing her hands around in front of her, they felt the walls of the protection spell flow through them and watched them gather back into a glowing ball cupped in Katie’s hands. Within seconds, the orb had been dispersed and they were free to get up.

 

Stretching slightly as she rose to her feet, Ali picked up her pillow and went to replace it along the wall, before detouring to once again look at the flowers. Leaning down, she breathed deeply, inhaling the scents of the many different flowers contained within the arrangement.

 

“You’re brave to do that. They come from George. Aren’t you afraid that he’ll have done something to them? Like make them shoot water at you, or something?” Ginny asked curiously.

 

Alinora turned to face the other two with a very devilish expression on her face. “Oh, he wouldn’t be stupid enough to try that again, not after the first- and last- time he thought that hexing my flowers would be amusing.”

 

Katie started to smile, “What did you do to him?”

 

“I gave him Writer’s Pox.”

 

“Huh? What’s that?”

 

“It was a letter that, once he read it, caused him to break out in ink blotches all over his body. And to make it more amusing, the ink would occasionally start forming words or phrases… and they weren’t always very complementary ones.” Ali’s grin was quite evil by this point.

 

“Is that where that stuff came from?!?” Ginny’s eyes were blazing, “Those idiots got the entire family with them a year or two back… though I don’t recall them doing all that.”

 

“That’s because they never figured out quite how to duplicate the spell. And I **did** tell you how to get rid of it as soon as I knew they’d sent it out!” she laughed, raising her hands to ward off an irritated Ginny. “Besides, I bought you all some wonderful gifts with my share of the proceeds from that one!” Ali laughed.

 

“Enough, children! We have a show to put on. You can bicker over this after we’ve defeated the bad guys and finished the job we’re here to do!” Katie interposed herself between Ali and Ginny and stretched out a hand towards each of them. They’d gotten into mock fighting stances and appeared about to go at each other, though their expressions weren’t at all serious.

 

At Katie’s words, both stood back up straight and, in unison, answered back ‘Yes, mother’, while sticking out their tongues at each other. All three broke into laughter at that point, and it was in good spirits that they left the room to finish their preparations for the show.

 

*****

 

Katie and Ginny had each made a pass through the audience while Alinora had been sealing the backstage area. They met up for a few short minutes before it was time to go on and compared notes. Ginny was trying hard not to giggle, and waved Katie to begin while she attempted to control herself. Shooting Ginny a confused look, Katie began.

 

“I think most of the guests on the left side of the aisle are okay. All normal guests just here to have a good time and support a good cause. Though I was hard pressed to not look too happy when I came across Neville Longbottom sitting at a table in the back corner. Since we know he’s an Auror, we know he’s here to help. I did see someone suspicious in the back towards the aisle though. Take a look at him when you go out. He’s sitting with some other people, but they’re obviously not together.”

 

Ginny had finally controlled her giggles enough to talk. “Okay, my side looks fine too, everything normal from what I can tell, though…” She lost it. Fighting hard, she took a deep breath and started again. “Snape’s out there. Though you might not recognize him… the blond hair and blue eyes he’s currently wearing…” Ginny’s face was going purple in her attempt to not laugh.

 

“You’ve got to be kidding? Snape? Blonde hair, blue eyes? I’ll bet you’re going to tell me he’s wearing something other than those black robes of his too?” Katie’s look of disbelief mixed with incredibility set Ali giggling too, as she visualized Snape.

 

“Wait and see yourselves. It’s time to go on.” Ginny wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “Ready?” and she lead them out onto the stage.

 

*****

 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, it is our great honor to be here tonight to perform for you and to support St. Mungo’s. Thank you all for your gracious donations. I hope, by the end of the evening, that you will feel that you have been suitably rewarded for it! Now, as we all know you’re not here to listen to me talk; so I think we’ll be getting started now.”

 

Alinora smiled around at the audience, doing her own scan of who was there and trying not to giggle at the odd picture Snape presented. Ginny had been right. His hair was currently long, blonde and wavy; his eyes were a deep blue. He was dressed in a tight pair of black pants and a blue shirt that matched his eyes. If it hadn’t been for the faintly sardonic expression on his face as he surveyed his fellow audience members, she might have believed that she was imagining things. But no one was as good as he was at looking that disdainful.

 

Turning to glance at Katie and Ginny she nodded once and winked. They grinned back, eyes sparkling, and began to play.

 

The first half of the show went quickly. The audience seemed to be enjoying themselves and Ali had even noticed Snape tapping his foot with the rhythm once or twice. As they reached the half way point though, Alinora felt her muscles begin to tense up. She began testing the feeling, trying to get an idea of just when things would begin. Soon. As they finished their current song, she turned to face the others and took a sip of water.

 

 _It’s time_ , she signaled.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 2: The Death Eaters_ **

*********

 

The time had come. The foreseen event was finally upon them. Alinora picked up her hand drum, nodded at the others, and turned to return to the front of the stage. Ginny nodded in response and picked up her pipes, while Katie collected her fiddle.

 

Facing the audience, Ali began to slowly drum the beat. As she picked up the pace, she heard Ginny join in soon followed by Katie. As the music from the three joined together, Ali added in the vocal component and the spell began. She been experimenting with using music to cast spells since she was in school, and had had considerable success with it. This particular song they called _The Lament_. Loosely based on descriptions of gypsy songs they’d heard about, it had no set lyrics and changed every time they performed it. It was quite popular, which was good since it was also an excellent way to cast their defense spell.

 

The music wove its way throughout the room, touching everyone in the audience and connecting with all the waiting charms that had been set earlier. When the time came, with a single note, Ali could shut down everything. Now they just had to wait, and let the magic build.

 

The audience sat as if entranced, pulled in by the music and unaware of what was going on around them. Alinora felt bad that she’d had to include Neville and Snape in the spell as well, but power was limited and right now it would be too difficult to leave them out. A flicker of movement towards the back of the room caught her eye, and, as they were all entwined within the song, she turned the group’s attention there. It was the Death Eaters they had been expecting.

 

The general population of the wizarding world was under the mistaken impression that, with the destruction of Voldemort four years previous, their time of fear was over. Unfortunately, Voldemort’s defeat didn’t lead to the capture of all his Death Eaters as well. Those that had remained free had continued to promote his cause and recruit new members. The Order and the Ministry’s Aurors had been working for years now to clear out the remaining evil, but they kept finding new corruption to deal with. The group tonight was one of the larger the women had seen over the years. Instead of the normal two or three members, there were eight. Ali had sensed that they would be up to the challenge, though barely, and they could now see why.

 

 _‘Go’_ Ali sensed from Ginny, right before the suspected Death Eater in the audience was struck with a mental blow which left him slumped over on the table. It wasn’t noticed by his tablemates.

 

As she saw the man slump down, Alinora triggered her spell as well. The audience was instantly blanketed in a concealing fog. Beneath that layer, the audience had gone still as Ali struggled to hold the spell that appeared to stop time for them, as well as keep them safe from the attack.

 

Next, Katie triggered some of the charms Alinora had set up earlier to provide defense and confusion for the white robed figures that were loosely grouped at the back of the room. Everything had happened so quickly, they hadn’t had a chance to react yet. They noticed though when a spell barrier sprung up between them and the stage, and when they were suddenly pelted with water balloons.

 

Ginny spared a moment to consider that perhaps George was having a bad effect on Ali, before she stepped up beside her and spread her hands wide. Working on the base already started by the two before, she sent waves of cold air at the eight in the back, who had started scattering, looking for cover. A few had their wands out and were casting hexes and curses towards the stage, but Katie was deflecting them back.

 

Slowed by the cold, and the fact that their robes were freezing due to the water they’d previously absorbed, the offence was greatly lacking. Ginny kept in mind that Ali had said only to hold the attackers until their backup arrived and started trying to corral them back into a central location. Katie, sensing what she was attempting to do, began triggering some of the other charms waiting. A wailing voice could be heard coming from the corners where some of the cloaked figures had retreated. The sound pierced through those standing closest, driving them out into the room, and away from the wailing mermaid’s call. The sound decreased as they returned to the center of the room, allowing them to uncover their ears.

 

Alinora was only paying minimal attention to what her friends were doing. They all knew their parts and were quite capable of playing them. She smiled slightly when she heard the wailing. She was, luckily, the only one who actually knew what was being said over and over again in that charm. It was a rather obscene phrase she’d learned recently that she’d otherwise never have the opportunity to use in polite company. Her smiled turned to a grimace as she felt someone attempting to break through her spell to get to the audience. Ali’s eyes narrowed as she focused on the culprit, and, doing a quick rundown of what charms had not yet been used, triggered one of the hexes located nearby.

 

Ginny and Katie were a bit startled when they saw one of the figures go floppy, as if their entire body was made of rubber. Staggering around on legs that bent at unnatural angles, the person managed to knock into enough of their cohorts that most wound up in a pile on the floor. That was all Ginny had been waiting for as she cast a mass petrification spell on the group as a whole and held it. They weren’t going anywhere now.

 

Alinora was starting to shake from the effort of holding her spell together, and the humming she’d been using to focus was getting a little rough. Katie quickly stepped to her side, and took her hand to add her strength into the spell as well. She felt Ali squeeze her hand lightly as she straightened up. Now they only had to hold on and wait.

 

What seemed like an eternity later, though it was probably only five minutes, they heard the door to the theater open. Ginny raised a hand, preparing to cast a spell if necessary, but lowered it in relief as she recognized those coming into the room. Kira Langly and Seamus Finnegan, both Aurors, were in the lead and came to a halt as they saw the frozen, both literally and figuratively, group of Death Eaters in front of them. They were closely followed by Ginny’s brothers, Charlie and George, who, after a quick glance ahead, was scanning the room anxiously until he saw that Ali was safe on stage. Then he joined his brother in laughing at the pathetic sight the Death Eaters made. The last person to enter the room, Brad MacDuggle, did so at a slow walk, keeping a close eye on his surroundings. Katie gave a sigh of relief as she saw him enter, and relaxed slightly.

 

“You were almost late.” Alinora said softly, as she glanced towards the new arrivals.

 

“It’s been a busy day and we got here as soon as we could.” Kira responded, turning to observe the spell that Ginny was holding together, before turning to look curiously at the fog covering the audience. “I’m hoping that Neville and Snape are under there. Can they be released?”

 

Alinora considered the question for a moment, and then nodded. “I think so. There’s also someone we think is with our attackers. Ginny clubbed him- you’re probably going to want to grab him as well.” Closing her eyes, Ali began reweaving the magic of her spell to release the three. As the fog cleared in patches, first Neville then Snape became visible, as was the path for them to leave the area. Looking a bit confused, both did so while Kira found the third opening and collected the unconscious man from his table. Once they were all clear, Ali brought the fog back to cover the entire area. She was shaking again and Katie had dropped her hand to put a supporting arm around her instead.

 

“We need to hurry this along. They can’t hold this forever you know.” George’s voice was cheerful, but he was keeping a worried eye on Alinora.

 

“Right. Neville, you take this one and return to headquarters. Seamus and I will take control of this lot- can you help too… Professor?!?” They had all suddenly noticed what Snape was wearing. George tried to muffle his chuckles, but, with a disgusted snort, Snape dropped the disguise spell and resumed his normal appearance.

 

“Yes, I can help. Anything to get away from here and allow me to return home as soon as possible.”

 

Ali laughed softly at his words. “And we love you too, Professor.” Her words were quiet, but Snape heard her from the back of the room. His expression softened slightly as he looked at her, but he didn’t say anything in response. “Glad you came though.” He nodded, and then turned back to the prisoners.

 

“Well then, Ginny, if you would release your spell we’ll take it from here.”

 

Ginny waited until Kira, Seamus and Snape were in position, wands at the ready, before dropping her hold. The group shifted slightly when they realized they were free again, before they were hit by another petrification charm and slowly removed from the room. The back of the room was now empty except for Charlie, George and Brad.

 

“Not to sound rude or anything, but Ali really needs to end this spell. So, why don’t you lovely gentlemen step back over near where Neville had been sitting and prepare to take a seat there once the fog begins to disperse?” Katie was smiling mischievously, but keeping a close eye on Ali. “Ginny, she’s going to need a boost if you expect her to finish the show- she’s a bit faded.”

 

“You know, I’m right here. You don’t have to talk about me like I’m deaf as well as unable to take care of myself…” came Alinora’s irritated response. Ginny smiled and walked over to join the two and placed a hand over Ali’s left hand- still clutching the hand drum she’d been playing.

 

Silently they merged, the process going much smoother now after years of practice than it had when they’d first discovered that they had the ability to feed power to each other. The men in the back of the room watch in awe as Ali recovered before their eyes until she finally stepped away from her friends, cutting the contact. She was smiling now and her eyes were wide open and sparkling bright green.

 

“What a rush! Ready to get back to business?”

 

Katie studied her intently for a moment, then relaxed and nodded. “I’m ready.” she replied as she turned to collect her instrument and resume her previous position. Ginny gave her a sketchy salute before doing the same.

 

Alinora once again began to beat the rhythm on her drum and was joined immediately by the other instruments. Slowly, she began to unweave the magic binding the audience. As the fog cleared, the three men moved into position and were seated by the time the audience regained awareness of their surroundings. The song continued for another couple minutes before being brought to a close to thunderous applause.

 

Alinora turned to replace her drum and picked up her water bottle before turning to address the audience with a grin. “So, are we all having fun yet?” There was more applause and a couple wolf whistles from the back corner, which she ignored, in reply. “I’m happy to hear it. As the evening is getting on and time is growing shorter- and I need a bit of a breather…” the audience laughed at Ali’s wide grin, “I thought it would be a good time to see if there were any requests for favorite songs that we can try to work in over the last part of the show…” She trailed off, eyebrows raised in inquiry, as suggestions were called out. The ladies made note of the songs mentioned and when the suggestions began to slow, Ali raised a hand for silence. “I think that’ll about cover it! I think we can fit in most of your requests, though I hope you’ll forgive us if we have to leave one or two out. And on that note, I guess we should get back to the show!” Turning, she walked back to put down her water and have a quick consultation with the others on order of songs. Then they started up again.

 

*****

 

As things turned out, the group was able to squeeze in all the requests before it was time to draw things to a close. Finally, they were down to their final song of the evening.

 

“You all have been a wonderful audience- though what else could be expected based on the reasons we’re all here! On behalf of The Sirens and St. Mungo’s, I’d like to once again say thank you for your contributions that made tonight possible. I’m sure most of you are aware that after tonight the Ladies and I will be taking a very well deserved vacation to spend time with our family and friends. It has been our great honor to spend this first night back at home with all of you. And to that effect, I’d like to close things out this evening with a personal favorite of mine- no matter what time of year it is.” From behind her, Alinora could hear Ginny start to giggle.

 

With a wave of her hand, Ali triggered one of the few non defensive spells she’d set up earlier that evening. The audience looked up, gawking in surprise as they watched snow falling from the ceiling of the room, though it disappeared before getting to head level. “I realize that it’s only the beginning of September, but shouldn’t we celebrate Christmas all year round?” Alinora was giving the audience a very innocent look, ignoring completely Ginny and Katie’s snickers from behind her, while various members of the audience started to grin as well as they caught on to the song Alinora was referring to…

 

Spinning on her heal, Ali turned one last time to approach the other two members of her group. As she got close enough, Ginny whispered, “This should be amusing. Has George ever seen this one?”

 

Ali’s grin was pure mischief. “Nope. That’s why I’m doing it. Also, because I like the song…”

 

Katie rolled her eyes, but all three were quick to transfigure their clothes into the proper costumes for the number. As they turned to face the audience each was wearing an identical low cut, tight, strapless dress. Ali’s was black, Ginny’s green and Katie’s a deep blue. Ginny and Katie began the chorus as Ali stalked to the front of the stage to begin the song.

 

_Santa baby, just slip a sable under the tree_

_For me_

_Been an awful good girl_

_Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight_

 

By this time, Ali was out among the tables that held their audience for the evening. As she sang, she was working her way around to each table, casting teasing glances at the men in the audience and grins at her fellow females.

 

_Think of all the fun I’ve missed_

_Think of all the fellows that I haven’t kissed_

_Next year I could be just as good_

_If you’ll check off my Christmas list_

 

The audience laughed as she stood up after perching on one stunned man’s lap during the previous verse. Winking at him over her shoulder, Ali moved on to the next table, slowly moving towards the far back corner…

 

_Santa baby, I want a yacht_

_And really that’s not a lot_

_Been an angel all year_

_Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight_

 

The was some laughter from the back at the angel comment and Ali’s eyes narrowed slightly as she thought about the hole that red head in the back was digging for himself.

 

_Come and trim my Christmas tree_

_With some decorations bought at Tiffany’s_

_I really do believe in you_

_Let’s see if you believe in me_

 

She’d finally made it to the back table…

 

_Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing_

_A ring_

_I don’t mean on the phone_

_Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight_

 

The final verse Ali sang while draped over George’s shoulder. She had her arms around his neck and was fingering the ring finger on her left hand. She watched in glee as his ears went bright red. She winked at those around them as she straightened up and began to make her way back up to the stage to end the song and the show.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

****Lyrics from _Santa Baby_ by Eartha Kitt**

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 3: Final Curtain_ **

*********

 

The last guest had finally been ushered from the theater. George, Charlie and Brad had stayed unobtrusively in the background while the ladies said their goodbyes. As Ginny closed and locked the front doors, Katie gave a loud yell and picked a startled Alinora up off her feet and swung her around.

 

“We’re done! It’s over, we can sleep late again and relax and goof off! I can play Quidditch for a while!”

 

Katie finally released Ali, who sunk to the floor, laughing hysterically, and ran over to hug a grinning Brad around the neck. Whispering a quiet phrase, Ali ended the charm on her clothing and gave a sigh of relief as the skin tight dress was replaced with a pair of black pants and a long, black jumper, which looked a lot like the ones that Mrs. Weasley made for the family each Christmas. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail that piled up beneath her as she lowered herself back onto the carpet and stared up at the ceiling, smiling happily.

 

She sat back up again quickly and smiled around at the guys, “Oh yeah, and it’s really great to see you all too. Sorry we didn’t say it sooner. We were a bit distracted though.” Laughter greeted her words, along with a comment to the effect of ‘what else is new?’ Ali stuck out her tongue at Charlie, who had made the comment, before collapsing back down onto the floor.

 

She heard someone settle down beside her, but was too relaxed to move. Her view of the ceiling was blocked by a mass of red hair as George leaned over to kiss her forehead.

 

“See anything exciting up there?” he teased.

 

Alinora started to reply in kind when her roving glance noticed something perched on an upper rafter. “I think I do.” she said, slowly rising up from the ground. George helped her up and watched curiously as she walked around the room, still staring upwards. The others had stopped their conversations as well to see what was going on.

 

Finally, Alinora got into a good position to confirm what she’d thought she’d seen while lying on the floor. There, in the rafters above, was a small, brown owl. “Artemus?” she called softly, catching the attention of the owl. It hooted softly and flew down to perch on a nearby chair. He had a note attached to his leg which Ali was quick to remove. “Katie, could you go grab my bag- I’ve got some owl treats packed in there. And get some water too!” she called out as Katie and Brad ran backstage.

 

They soon returned, followed by a floating trail of all their packed possessions. Ali gave Artemus some treats and set the water down nearby so he could drink, then opened the letter.

 

**_Ali-_ **

****

**_I’m sorry Anna and I couldn’t be there tonight to support you guys, but I’m sure you’ve had a calmer time of it than we have. The babies have arrived! Did you notice the plural form? I blame it completely on our association with the Weasleys, but my wonderful wife has tonight given birth to our twins- a boy and a girl._ **

****

**_We’re still… discussing what their names are. I’ll let you know when negotiations end, though I’m hoping that’ll be done soon- and before you visit. You will be coming tomorrow to meet your God children, right??? Now that Anna’s stopped yelling at me (and I won’t tell you what she said as I’m afraid to find out where she picked up some of those phrases) she seems quite happy, though how we’ll deal with TWO… Feel free to bring pointers from Molly when you visit._ **

****

**_I’m being called, so I’ll close this out now. I’ll instruct Arte not to disturb your performance and we hope to see you ALL very soon._ **

****

**_Love,_ **

**_Colin_ **

 

“They had twins?!?” Katie started to laugh. “Oh dear, how does he always manage to get himself into stuff like that?”

 

Alinora was still studying the letter, grinning rather foolishly, when she felt an arm going around her waist. Leaning in to place her head on George’s chest, she heard his chest rumble as he chuckled.

 

“Well, are you going to reply? Artemus looks eager to be off home.”

 

Ali shook herself slightly and grinned up at him, “Yeah, that would be a good idea, wouldn’t it?” She rummaged through her pack and pulled out a pen to jot down a quick note back to Colin.

 

**_Brother dear-_ **

****

**_We’re all very happy for you and Anna- give her and the little ones our love._ **

****

**_Of course, I’ll be visiting tomorrow! As will the rest, I expect, though let us know if Anna would prefer less company._ **

****

**_If you find you need help in negotiating your peace treaty with Anna, let me know and I’ll send Brad to help you out, as he is the expert, but I figure you won’t need any help there._ **

****

**_See you soon!_ **

****

**_Love,_ **

**_Alinora_ **

 

She reattached the parchment to Artemus’ leg and he was quick to fly off through an opening in the roof.

 

Alinora let out a happy sigh of contentment and turned to wrap her arms around George. “This has been a good day!”

 

At her words, Brad and Charlie turned to stare at her as if she’d just lost her mind, but the others only laughed. Ginny, who’d been quietly talking to Charlie, walked over and gave Alinora, and by extension George, a hug.

 

“Yes, I would have to agree, it has been a truly amazing day!” She paused for a moment before drawing back, “So, what do you say we get this place straightened up and get out of here so we can celebrate it? Humm?”

 

“I think sounds like an _amazing_ idea!”

 

“Don’t be a smartarse, Brad- that’s Fred and George’s job, remember?” Katie said, lightly taping him on the head.

 

“Hey, I resemble that remark!” George said indignantly, before grinning over at Katie and Brad. “Besides, if I were to say something like that I would use the word ‘smashing’ which is so much more appropriate, in any situation!”

 

They were all in high spirits as they finished setting the theater to rights and making sure that the girls had all of their belongings. They’d sent most of their possessions back to their flat after arriving in town that morning and had only kept what they’d need for their stay with the Weasleys. If they decided they needed anything else, it was only a short hop to their place in Hogsmeade.

 

Finally, they could find nothing else to take care of. Everything was back where it belonged and spotless, as they’d promised it would be.

 

“Time to be going?” Charlie asked, glancing around the room. “I’m sure Mum’s wondering what’s keeping us. I do hope Dad hasn’t mentioned anything about tonight yet; though if he had, I think she would’ve come and collected us all in person!”

 

“Arthur won’t say anything prematurely, but that doesn’t mean she won’t hear from someone else.” Brad commented as he collected the bags Katie was pointing out to him as hers. “We’ll meet you all there,” and then he and Katie were gone.

 

“Come on, Charlie, the sooner we get home, the sooner Mum will get over us being back. Harry’s game should be over by now too, right?” Passing Charlie the heavier of her two bags, she gave Ali and George a cheerful wave before she too Disapparated. Charlie sighed deeply, shaking his head, and disappeared.

 

Alone in the empty theater, George and Alinora stood in silence with their arms wrapped around each other.

 

“I’m glad you’re back.” George’s grip tighten for a moment before relaxing so he could draw back slightly and look down at the petite woman he was holding.

 

The usual mischief was missing from her expression as she studied him in return. “I’m happy to be back. I’ve missed you. Living from visit to visit isn’t much fun, even for a very good cause. I’m glad we will all be able to relax and catch up on all the events that have been going on in each other’s lives. Bloody hell, we almost missed Fred and Angelina’s wedding last year because Moody needed us to go to Austria! And we were all in the wedding!! What a mess…” Alinora started laughing, remembering the problems they’d had in trying to get back in time so the wedding would occur without any problems. “I’m tired of it. I want to try having a normal, peaceful life for a while and spend as much time with you as I possibly can. I think we’ve all earned that.”

 

He nodded in agreement before leaning down to kiss her. When they finally broke apart, both were breathing rather heavily. “We’d better… be heading out. I know Mum has something planned for this evening and we shouldn’t miss it. This everything you need?” he asked, gesturing at the bags on the ground around their feet.

 

She smirked up at him, not bothering to look down, “Yep, this is everything I need.”

 

He smiled and kissed her on the nose as he bent to pick up her stuff. With one last look around, Ali ended the charm providing the lights for the room and then they were gone as well.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 4: Night at the Burrow_ **

*********

 

The house was fairly quiet and calm when George and Alinora appeared in the middle of the living room of the Burrow. They almost thought the place was empty until they noticed Brad and Katie talking quietly in a far corner of the room. At the same moment they also heard the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen. They looked briefly at each other before quietly making their way out of the room, leaving Brad and Katie to continue their conversation, apparently unaware of their arrival.

 

Joining the others in the kitchen, they found Ginny, Angelina and Charlie clustered around the table while Molly was busy at the stove fixing something that smelled wonderful. They turned to see who had come in and Alinora soon found herself buried under hugs- first from Angelina, then from Molly Weasley. George was greeted with less exuberance, but they did see him much more often.

 

As they sat down at the table, provided with steaming mugs of cider, Ginny gave Alinora a slightly sheepish smile before handing her a piece of parchment. "Mum already knows about tonight. This came for us earlier."

 

Alinora unfolded the note, holding it so both she and George could read it.

 

**_Ladies-_ **

 

**_I'm sorry your last show was marred by this latest attack. I am quite sure that you rose to the occasion in your normal spectacular fashion and I'm sure they still don't quite know what hit them._ **

 

**_We intend to keep it that way._ **

 

**_Please stop by the school midweek so that we can discuss the situation. I'll be expecting you._ **

 

**_Albus Dumbledore_ **

 

"Humm, interesting. I much prefer this. I half expected Moody to show up on the doorstep, ranting and raving." Ali slowly refolded the note and put it down on the table. She was silent for a while, considering the implications of Dumbledore's words, then, deciding that such considerations were useless at the moment; she looked up and smiled determinedly. "So, when are we expecting everyone else?"

 

Molly glanced at the Grandfather clock nearby, "Arthur, Ron and Fred are still at the Ministry. Harry's game should be over soon, and Hermione said that she had to stop by the house before coming by tonight." Molly's lips tightened for a brief moment after her last comment, but didn't say anything further as she turned back to the stove.

 

Ali and Ginny exchanged a significant glance. Ron and Hermione had moved in together at the beginning of the year and Molly still wasn't too happy about it. She had at least become a bit more accepting, or maybe just less vocal…

 

"Well, while we're all waiting then, I think I'll go stretch out in the living room for a while and rest my feet. It's been a long day." Ali slid her chair back, got up from the table and headed towards the living room.

 

"Yeah, I'm a bit tired too…" she heard George say, as she heard his chair slide back as well. Since her back was to the group, they couldn't see her grin, but she definitely could hear their laughter as she walked out, followed closely by George.

 

Katie and Brad appeared to have finished their conversation, but didn't look like they wanted company, so Ali headed towards a couch opposite them. Sinking down on the cushion with a sigh, she leaned over to unzip the sides of her boots and remove them. She wiggled her toes happily, leaning back to stretch. George had settled down nearby and Ali happily stretched out on the couch, with her head pillowed on his thigh. _Sometimes being short has its advantages_ , she thought as she snuggled comfortably into the length of the couch.

 

"I'm glad nothing happened to you tonight. When we got word that that your show was a target…" He sighed. "I'm just glad we were able to get there in time for you, almost late, or not." George's voice was serious in tone, but he was smiling gently down at her.

 

"I knew you'd be there. You've never let me down when I've needed help." A devilish twinkle appeared in Ali's eye as she stared up at him consideringly, "Though you've sometimes been a bit less than helpful in less serious situations… such as my first visit here…"

 

George groaned. "You're going to be bringing that up for the rest of our lives aren't you?" he asked.

 

Ali chose not to answer, but simply grinned and stuck her tongue out at him. She'd first been to stay with the Weasley's the summer after she and George finished their stay at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They'd visited with her mom for a couple days before flooing back to the Burrow for the next week. This was fine, except George hadn't bothered to explain just who it was that he was bringing back with him… Molly had been quite surprised to see a strange witch appearing out of her living room fireplace. Luckily, Ginny had been in the next room and had calmed things down long enough for George to appear and explain the situation. Once calmed down, Molly had been _quite_ interested in meeting Alinora. That conversation, or interrogation, had lasted most of the afternoon while George had been sent to help his twin Fred in the garden.

 

They both relaxed, entrenched in their own thoughts and half asleep. At some point, Fred and Ron arrived via the fireplace, but other than waving a hand at them as they went through to the kitchen; they were content to stay where they were. They heard Hermione Apparate into the kitchen as well. Now they were only waiting for Arthur and Harry.

 

The voices in the kitchen began to rise and they could hear Ron's voice above the rest, though not what he was saying.

 

"I wonder what he's going on about now?" George wondered lazily.

 

"I'm not sure, but it sounds like Ginny's getting irritated as well. Shall we go see?" Ali answered back as she began to sit up. She heard George mumble something in reply and turned to smile and give him a hand up as well. Katie shot them a questioning glance, motioning to ask if they should come too. Ali waved her back. "We'll see what's up. Hopefully nothing major."

 

They walked into the middle of an argument.

 

"I can't believe you aren't taking this seriously! You could've been killed tonight, and you're making jokes! Playing pranks on Death Eaters…" Ron's voice trailed off as he threw his arms up in the air in frustration and turned around, finally seeing Alinora and George in the doorway.

 

"Ron, do you honestly think that any of us were taking this lightly? Playing 'pranks', as you put it, doesn't mean that we don't understand the seriousness of the situation. I think we showed that we understood it perfectly by doing exactly what our job is- to identify the threat and, if necessary, immobilize it until trained back up can come take over the situation." Ali's voice was calm, but serious, as she walked into the room and over to Ron. Suddenly she grinned up at him, "And if you want to get snippy about the pranks, leave Ginny out of it. They were all mine and I think they worked just fine."

 

Ron groaned again. "Now you're not taking things seriously! You shouldn't be using Fred and George's joke shop tricks against trained wizards! That can be dangerous! Don't you girls realize that?!? You could have been killed! These things should be left to the experts."

 

There were several intakes of breath at that and Ali felt George's hands grip her upper arms firmly. She gently shook him off and took another step forward, sweeping her hair back off her neck. With a word, she removed the concealing makeup that covered a thin, four inch scar running down the left side of her neck.

 

"I think I am quite knowledgeable about just how serious this job can be. I received this," she gestured at the scar, "a year and a half back when your 'experts' made a mistake that we had to fix. One of those pranks you're so against was what saved this from becoming a fatal injury. Despite that, I still spent a week in St. Mungo's, Colin was in for almost as long with his injuries and the others were lucky enough to only receive minor damage. Don't tell me how to do my job, Ron, and don't begin to judge how seriously we take all this. We know it can mean losing our lives- we're not stupid, we knew what we'd agreed to six years ago."

 

Alinora took a deep breath, held it for moment and then let it go slowly before looking back up at Ron. "I know that you care about Ginny, and the rest of us, and that worry makes you touchy about what we do. I understand that. And we all really appreciate it. But you have to trust that we are professionals and we are quite capable of getting the job done. How we chose to do that is up to us. Our unpredictability helps."

 

"And it can be very amusing to hear about later as well." a new voice broke in from behind them. "Such as, how did they get soaked like that?" Arthur Weasley had arrived home during the argument and was standing with Katie and Brad.

 

"Ah, that would've been from the water balloons." Katie replied, smiling at the childlike joy on Arthur's face. "It was followed by a lot of cold air that effectively kept them contained for a while due to their robes freezing up."

 

The mood lightened considerably and even Ron looked like he was trying to contain a smile.

 

"Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a party or celebration or something? What's with all the seriousness anyway?" Fred asked. "Don't make me pull out our new product line for testing…" he warned, looking quite taken with the idea. Alinora could tell by George's expression that he thought that might be a good idea too.

 

"I think a celebration is definitely in order." Brad's calm voice soothed the group, turning attention away from Fred's comment. "It's wonderful that Katie, Ginny and Alinora are finally home, after a very successful tour on the road, and…"

 

"And we won our Quidditch match!"

 

Ginny, who, along with the rest, had missed Harry's arrival, jumped up from the table to throw her arms around him and give him a very thorough kiss. Fred began making retching noises until both Angelina and Molly hit him over the head to make him stop.

 

Brad was laughing, but stopped when Katie poked him in the side and gave him a significant look. "Yet another good reason to celebrate! But Katie and I would like to offer up a third." He stopped and placed an arm around Katie's shoulders and pulled her close to his side. They were both smiling happily. "After a great deal of skillful negotiations on my part, I have finally convinced Katie to marry me."

 

"Yes!" screamed Ali as an "About time!" was yelled by Ginny. They quickly converged on the startled pair, hugged each separately, before pulling Katie into a group hug and dancing her around the room while chanting over and over "Katie's gettin' married. Katie's gettin' married."

 

It took a while to calm down after that announcement, and the reaction to it, but finally the group had settled down at the table to eat the wonderful meal prepared by Molly. They were almost finished eating when, during a lull in the conversation, George decided to spice things up just a little bit more.

 

"So, Ginny, Harry, when are you two going to stop hiding your engagement and come clean?"

 

Ginny's face went red. She shot Alinora a startled look as she took a moment to pound on Harry's back- he'd started choking on something he'd been eating.

 

"Don't look at me, I certainly didn't tell him!" Alinora looked as startled as Ginny. She turned to look at the smug expression on George's face as he viewed the family's reactions to this new revelation. "How did you find out?" she whispered to him as Molly and the rest converged on the red faced pair.

 

"I'll never tell. But they'd hid it long enough. It's been a year… No need to hide it anymore. Not sure exactly why they did to begin with, but I'll let it go."

 

Ali shook her head in disbelief. "You kept that secret for a year and didn't tell anyone? Most impressive."

 

"I know I am. That's why you love me."

 

Ali had gotten to her feet in preparation to go officially congratulate Harry and Ginny, but she stopped for a moment to place a kiss on his forehead. "You're right. And don't ever forget it." With a quick hug, and another kiss on the cheek, she was gone.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 5: Night Conversations_ **

*********

 

The fire crackled spiritedly in the fireplace and cast flickering shadows on the faces of the two figures lounging nearby. Red hair mixed with deep auburn as George and Alinora lay stretched out together on a faded piece of carpet. The house was finally silent; the family had gone to bed and those living close by had returned home for the night. Since it was the first time in way too long the two had had the chance to simply spend time together with no deadline approaching, it was too tempting to resist spending just a little bit more time alone.

 

Alinora lay on her side, head pillowed on George's shoulder, lightly tracing abstract designs on his chest. As usual, she was humming and that, combined with the light touch of her hand, was soothing him almost to the point of sleep. He had only half noticed she'd stopped humming before she spoke.

 

"So, George, how _did_ you know about Ginny and Harry's engagement?" she asked slyly, still tracing patterns on his chest. "They weren't even in England when he asked… the only people they told were Katie, Colin and me. Not even Ron knew, since we know he can't keep a secret. I'm very curious."

 

George was grinning broadly and wide awake now. "I can tell you're curious, but I'm not going to tell you. You three aren't the only ones in the family in espionage. How good of a spy would I be if I'd missed out on that major news?"

 

"But Fred didn't know, did he? He's into all this as much as you are."

 

"True, but I have more of a reason to travel then he does."

 

"So, you found out during one of your trips? When you were visiting us? Or while on business?" The twins had opened a joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, while still in school and it had quickly caught on in the wizarding world. A couple years later, they'd branched out into less obviously magical items which were soon being sold to Muggles all over the world. This lead to a lot of travel for the twins, however since Fred and Angelina's marriage, George had been doing most of it alone.

 

"Now that would be telling, and what good spy simply gives up such important information after simply being asked for it?" George was grinning delightedly up at her as she pondered what he'd said.

 

"You know, spies have been tortured for information in the past…" she said finally, as she levered herself up on an elbow to hover over him. She was smiling slightly and, although he couldn't see it, silently starting to cast a charm.

 

The look he shot her was obviously one of amused disbelief. "Torture? Why would you want to torture me? I've done nothing wrong. Besides, you've always said that you don't believe in that sort of thing."

 

"Well, that really depends on your definition of… torture…" She leaned towards him, her outstretched arm helping her keep her balance, and gave him a light kiss on the lips. Just about the time he began thinking she was going to let the subject drop, she drew back her outstretched hand until it was just touching him under his arm and triggered her charm.

 

It was a very minor tickling charm, but it was completely unexpected, which made up for its lack of power. As George was convulsed with laughter, Ali rolled away slightly to aim a silencing charm towards the stairwell so they wouldn't wake the others. Then she turned back to enjoy her handiwork.

 

He was rolling around on the floor, laughing uncontrollably at the tickling sensations running through his body. "Oh… you are… so going… to get it… for… this!" he gasped out, as the charm slowly faded away and he was able to catch his breath.

 

Alinora was giggling pretty hard herself, but was still prepared to defend herself when George attempted retribution. Fortunately for her, she was much less ticklish than he was. If she could find the right spot, he'd be completely defenseless…

 

Despite her best efforts, Alinora wasn't able to completely subdue George and they both eventually collapsed to the floor. Random spurts of giggling could still be heard as they both slowly caught their breath.

 

"Wow, it got a bit warm in here, didn't it?" Alinora struggled into an upright position and tugged her jumper up and over her head before tossing it onto a nearby chair. She was wearing a white t-shirt underneath, which was much more comfortable after their exertions. Now feeling cooler, she resumed her former position, lying in the crook of George's arm. She yawned, lazily covering her mouth with her hand.

 

"It's been quite a day, hasn't it?" he asked.

 

Ali nodded, "Pretty amazing, wasn't it? Katie and Ginny both announcing their engagements and Colin having twins- I think I'm still in shock. But in a good way…!" She grinned up at him, somehow still bubbling with excitement over it all despite her tiredness.

 

"So, do you think all that will change your group? Will you guys still go out on the road like you've been doing, touring and doing concerts?"

 

"I don't know," she replied, staring off into the fire, "I don't think we'll be disbanding, if that's what you're asking, but I'm sure this will change things to some degree. I mean, Colin's not going to want to be away from Anna and the babies all that often; Katie might not be able to be gone as much either as a politician's wife. You know _I'll_ stick with it- I'm not ready to come run the shop for you guys yet!"

 

"Aw, shucks! And here I was thinking you'd be perfect for our Hogsmeade location…" he tapped her lightly on the nose as she stuck out her tongue at him. "Are you guys ready for the publicity that's going to hit when it's announced that two of the three of you are getting married? You thought the tabloids were bad before…"

 

"Hummph. They weren't all that bad until you started your stunt of disguising yourself and showing up at our concerts! You know how boring it got answering questions about my 'secret admirer'?"

 

"Well, I wasn't too thrilled that they named the guy _Fernando_ \- sounds a bit too much like 'Fred' to me."

 

"I don't think originality, at least in things like that, are what those particular publications are known for. Besides, if I could put up with the questions about the mystery man in my life, whether I was currently seeing someone and when I planned to 'settle down with some lucky man', then the rest of you could deal with it too." she told him in a tart voice, though her eyes were laughing.

 

"Hey, is it my fault? You could've been married years ago, but **nooooo** , you had to turn me down…" George gasped as she elbowed him in the side.

 

"Talk about something _I'll_ be hearing about for the rest of our lives! And for your information, as you seem to have to forgotten, I didn't 'turn you down'; I said to ask me again **_later_**. We'd just gotten out of school; we weren't old enough to be getting married! Besides, you know you really didn't expect me to say yes. We both had too many things we wanted, or needed, to do first."

 

Ali looked over him, a slight smile playing across her lips, but George remained silent, smiling back at her. She laughed softly then changed the topic. "So, are you going to go with me to visit Colin, Anna and the new twins?"

 

"Of course! Wouldn't miss it. Can't wait to see how Colin's handling it- he's so excitable normally; him with children should be even more amusing. Besides, you're going to be their godmother, how could I not want to see them?"

 

"Yep, not quite a true fairy godmother, but close enough. I can't wait to see them, but I really wish Dennis and his wife would be there too…"

 

George looked down at the wistful expression on her face, "Are those two still not speaking?"

 

"Not for years," she replied, shaking her head slightly, "I can't get Colin to tell me what happened between them, but something obviously occurred right about the time he left Hogwarts. Dennis is the only true family he has left anymore, not counting Anna and the babies, of course, and I hate to see the way things have gotten muddled up, but I haven't been able to think of anything to do to fix things." Her frustration was obvious.

 

Leaning over, George kissed Ali on the forehead. "Hey, you can't fix everything you know. Just being there for him is probably the best thing you can do. The two of you are as much family now as any other two people bound by blood. He knows you care for him- he and Anna asked you to be guardian for their children, which is about the highest level of trust a person can give. He may miss Dennis, and I'm sure he does, but not as much as he would if he didn't have you and the others in his life."

 

"Thanks, George. I know you're right, but every once and a while it just really burns me up to think about all the things Dennis has let him down for. But there's nothing I can do about it. I should just let it go…" Ali took a deep breath and let it out slowly. And then she yawned… and kept on yawning.

 

"Wow, it's getting late. We need to be heading up to bed, especially if we're going to visit Colin and still be back in time for the gathering tomorrow afternoon." Ali tried to sit up, but George had wrapped his arms around her waist and was preventing any further movement.

 

"Can't we just stay here? There's a nice, comfortable couch right over there…" George buried his face in the crook of her neck and began planting little kisses along it. Ali shivered at his touch, but held firm.

 

"I'd love to, but I have a feeling that Molly would be less than enthusiastic about that idea. She's having a hard enough time dealing with the Ron and Hermione situation. I don't want to add any more worries to her plate right now." Gently, Ali unclasped George's fingers from around her waist and got to her feet. Reaching out a hand to him, she gave him a tug to help him become upright as well. He immediately reached out and drew her into a tight hug.

 

They stood there for a while longer, before George finally drew back with a wry grin. "Okay, I think we'd better head up now. You can safely barricade yourself into the room with Ginny and Katie and at least Mum will be very happy about things in the morning."

 

Her only response was a simple, "I love you," as she reached up a hand to stroke the side of his face.

 

"And I love you too." Gently encircling her waist with his arm, they quietly ascended the stairs where he delivered her to the door of Ginny's old bedroom. Giving her one last kiss, he was gone with a quiet 'see you in the morning' lingering in the air as she entered the bedroom.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 6: The Fairy Godmother_ **

*********

 

The next morning, those currently staying at the Burrow met up again to eat a relaxed breakfast. As it was the weekend, Arthur didn't have to work and he was looking forward to being able to spend some time puttering in his shed with all his muggle toys. Molly had some shopping to do before their family and friends descended later on that afternoon for the official welcome home party. The girls and George would be visiting Colin and family, while Harry went to morning practice.

 

They were just finishing up when the owl post arrived. In among the normal random assortment of mail were two additional letters, one for Alinora and the other for George.

 

After glancing at the return address on his, George hastily ripped it open and scanned the contents. "Bloody hell!" he muttered under his breath before looking up at Alinora, who was looking puzzled. "I'm going to have to visit Colin and the rest later. There appears to be a bit of a problem at one of our manufacturing plants. It's not a major problem," he explained, "but it will take most of the morning. Maybe I can meet you all for lunch instead?" He could tell that Ali was a bit disappointed, but she still gave him a smile and a nod of understanding.

 

"There'll be other times to visit. You need to take care of your company. Besides, I'd hate to see the havoc a problem in manufacturing could cause, considering what you guys make!" They all laughed and Ali turned to look at the letter that had come for her. She chuckled. "Colin wrote again…"

 

**_Ali-_ **

 

**_I know you're coming soon, but I still wanted to tell you that we finally decided on names! Ariel Marie and Jeffrey Roan. We finally came up with a combination that we both could agree to. Considering how long it took us to agree on these, Anna joked that we probably shouldn't ever have more kids. She was only joking, right?_ **

 

**_Get here soon! Anna swears the three of you and anyone else that comes as well won't be too tiring for her, and that if it becomes so, she'll happily kick you all out. Quite bloodthirsty, my wife!_ **

 

**_See you soon!_ **

**_Colin_ **

 

"That poor boy!" Molly shook her head in amused sympathy as she bustled around the kitchen putting things into a basket. "Now, I've put together a few things for you to take to the two of them. They say they don't mind the company, but if too many show up they'll soon find out differently. I'll visit in a few days."

 

"Did you include the patented Weasley guide for raising and dealing with twins?" George asked with a cheeky grin.

 

"As a matter of fact I did include a few hints, but, for the most part, I think they're going to have to learn the same way the rest of us do, by trial and error. LOTS of trial and error…" She sighed, but smiled fondly at her children.

 

"Well, you guys ready to be going? Molly, we'll grab lunch in Hogsmeade if that's alright with you. We need to check some things at the flat anyway. We'll be back early enough to give you a hand though before everyone begins showing up this afternoon. George, if you get done in time, you can find us there. Okay?" Alinora got up from the table, gave George a quick kiss and Molly a hug before picking up the basket Molly had prepared. The rest gathered up the items they were taking with them as well and, with a last wave, the three Apparated out of the room.

 

*********

 

"Oh, Colin, Anna, they're beautiful!" Katie exclaimed softly as she gently stroked the dark hair covering Jeffrey's tiny head. Alinora and Ginny nodded in agreement as they stared in amazement down at Ariel, who was currently sleeping peacefully.

 

Anna's dark brown eyes looked tired, but happy, as she gazed contentedly around at her children and the friends who held them. Her long brown hair had been pulled up into a messy bun and she'd obviously gotten very little rest the night before, but even that couldn't hide how happy she was. The looks she gave Colin were full of love and neither could stop smiling. Colin appeared almost like normal, vibrating with energy, though they could tell how much more excited he was by the state of his hair. He appeared to have been running his hands through it compulsively as it was standing almost on end by this point. And it was still fairly early in the day…

 

They had been quite grateful for Molly's basket as she had included many useful gifts for their new extended family. They had been able to have their babies at home, as they'd wanted, but Anna was now lamenting the fact that since she was unable to be up doing things, Colin was creating too much of a mess in their home.

 

With one last smile down at the lighter haired twin she held, Ginny looked over at Anna, "We can help with that while we're here. No," she held up a hand to stop Anna's automatic refusal, "it's not a problem. In fact, it's the least we can do. Here, Katie, give Jeffrey back to his papa and you can give me a hand in the kitchen. Ali, you stay here. I know the three of you have some details to work out concerning the godmother stuff. You worry about that. We'll be fine." Ginny regretfully handed Ariel over to Alinora, who took her eagerly, and quickly drug Katie out of the room.

 

"Anna, your Disney fixation is showing. You named your daughter _Ariel_?" Alinora grinned over at Anna, who was blushing slightly. Colin was quick to come to her defense though.

 

"It seemed appropriate as her godmother is a mermaid… of sorts. Why not name her after another one? Of course it would've been too much if she'd been born with red hair… but since she wasn't I had no problem with it. Besides, who else is going to make that connection?"

 

Alinora laughed. "True. So, when should we see about formalizing things? No real hurry I guess, but we might as well get it taken care of it while it's still on our minds." She felt a bit of a shiver run up her spine and Colin looked at her in concern.

 

"Sorry about that! I'd opened a couple windows earlier to air out the place, but I forget how drafty it can get and just how chilly is now outside. Need to remember that now that we have the babies as the drafts aren't healthy for them." He walked carefully to the door and called out to Katie to please shut the windows in the living room before resuming his seat.

 

Jeffrey began to get a bit fussy and Colin quickly handed him to Anna for feeding. He started pacing the width of the room. Anna and Alinora shared an amused grin at this all too familiar habit of his. "Well, why don't we give it a couple days, see how Anna's feeling, then go down to the Ministry to take care of things at that point?"

 

Ali considered it for a moment. "That should work. I know we've been summoned to Hogwarts to see Dumbledore midweek and I could swing by here afterwards."

 

"Summoned?" Anna asked curiously. "Why?"

 

"Yes, why 'summoned'? Has something happened?" Colin looked concerned.

 

"Oh dear! I forgot you didn't know! Ah, yes, we had a bit of excitement last night that Dumbledore wants to speak to us about…"

 

Colin eyes had narrowed to slits and he had stopped his pacing to stare at Ali. "What happened?"

 

"Death Eaters. I got a premonition that they would be attacking last evening. Luckily George's sources gave him the same information, so we had plenty of backup; once they could make it there of course. We're all a bit concerned as to how they knew to attack us though. That's why Dumbledore wants to see us."

 

Colin crossed the room and gave her a hug, careful not to squash his daughter in the process. "I'm glad you guys are okay. You should've told me though! We're a team and I should've been there for you."

 

"Colin, dear, Anna was having a baby, or two as it turns out, we weren't summoning you for anything! **This** is where you needed to be. Besides," she added, in mock terror, "Anna would've killed me if you'd left to come help us!"

 

They laughed.

 

"I think 'kill' is a bit harsh. Only mild torture and I'd make sure I didn't leave any scars." Anna teased back.

 

"Well, as long as there are no scars, that's fine." Ali replied sarcastically. "Oh, but I forgot to tell you two the good news! Katie and Brad got engaged last night! And Ginny and Harry have been outed. George announced their engagement for them last night as well. He decided that they'd hid it long enough. Can't figure out how he knew though." She rolled her eyes in exasperation, though the others knew she wasn't really upset with him. She very rarely ever was.

 

"So, it's all out in the open finally? Went over well I take it? Family happy?" Colin asked.

 

"Yep, they're all thrilled. No date's been set for either, but I can't see them waiting all that long at this point."

 

"So what about you and George?" Anna asked quietly, smiling slightly over at Alinora.

 

"It'll happen." She shrugged. "The fact that we will be getting married is a foregone conclusion. I 'saw' that when I was sixteen. I've already lost that surprise, though I'm not complaining too much, and I'd like to leave the rest as much of a secret as I can. Or at least as much as I'm allowed to…" Her voice trailed off as she stared blankly into space. She was slightly startled when she felt something touch her finger, but looked down to see that Ariel was awake and had lightly gripped her finger. Alinora's face lit up as she smiled down at her solemn faced godchild.

 

"Hello, Ariel. My name is Alinora and I'm your fairy godmother," she crooned softly to the baby. Glancing up at the sound of muffled giggles, she winked at Anna. "In some legends Selkies are a type of fairy, and, since I'm the daughter of a selkie, that would mean I have fairy blood in me as well. Thus, I am a fairy godmother." She looked back down as Ariel, who had a most curious expression on her tiny face. Alinora whispered down to her, "Just don't expect me to be turning pumpkins into coaches for you. I'll sing the songs, I'll make the dress, I'll even consort with mice if need be, but I don't do the pumpkin thing. There are much better ways of handling transportation now." She grinned at the mental image she had of herself dressed as the fairy godmother in _Cinderella_ …

 

*********

 

Finally, the three said their good byes and headed to their flat in Hogsmeade. They were hoping to get a bit of unpacking done while they were there and go through their mail. Things had a tendency to pile up when you were gone as much as they were.

 

It was with a sigh of relief that Alinora unlocked the door and canceled the wards that guarded the place so that they could enter. Katie had gone to collect the post, but she and Ginny happily entered and made a beeline towards the living room.

 

Collapsing into the first chair she came to, Ginny glanced around the cozily decorated room happily. "I love visiting with Mum and Dad, but this place seems more like home now. It's nice to be back."

 

"I agree." Alinora said with a smile.

 

They sat there in silence until Katie joined them, and then they got to work setting things to rights within their home. Ginny ran out at lunch time to pick up food from a shop nearby and arrived back with George who had been able to meet them for lunch. They put him to work afterwards helping them move things around while they cleaned and put things away. He grumbled a bit that it would be easier to use magic, but they ignored him.

 

Finally it was time to return to help Molly with her afternoon preparations. The entire family was expected, with their spouses or significant others as appropriate, as well as various friends from school. It would be another busy and tiring evening, but at least the serious fighting should be kept to a minimum, unlike the night before.

 

 _Then again, with this crowd, you never can tell_ Ali thought, smiling to herself, as she locked up and grabbed a handful of floo powder. _At least if they get rowdy, we can use the same tactics on them as we did the Death Eaters… Molly won't mind water balloons as long as we're outside._ With that amusing thought, Ali threw the powder into the fireplace, called out 'The Burrow' and stepped into the green flames.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 7: Back to Hogwarts_ **

*********

 

A couple days later, after an enjoyable stay with Molly and Arthur Weasley, Alinora, Katie and Ginny were once again happily ensconced in their comfortable flat in Hogsmeade. Things were unpacked and they were finally feeling settled in again. Not quite enough to make them think they should be getting back to work, but enough to know they were home.

 

Today, they were to visit Hogwarts and speak with Professor Dumbledore. It had been years since they'd had the time to visit the school they'd all attended. Their last views of it had been after the final battle with Voldemort four years ago when a combined effort of the students and staff had finally succeeded in destroying him. Unfortunately, the effort lost them a couple of the professors, as well as some of the school grounds.

 

Walking through the gates to the school, they looked around in pleasure. They'd expected that over the previous years the damages they remembered would've been corrected, but seeing was believing and it was nice to see things back to the way they remembered them. They slowly made their way up the drive to the entrance of the school and entered the entry hall.

 

It was mid-morning and in the middle of one of the class periods, so the halls were empty. Their footsteps echoed as they began the trek up through the school towards Dumbledore's office, stopping every once and a while to point out something they remembered or to speak to one of the passing ghosts.

 

Finally, they came to the entrance to the spiral staircase that would deliver them to the Headmaster's office. Ginny stepped forward to give the password **_Siren's Song_**. A while back, Dumbledore had set up a more permanent password for them that would only work for one of the three in the group, so that they could always get to him in case of an emergency. Luckily, they hadn't had call to use it over the years.

 

Ascending the staircase, they quickly approached his door, knocked twice, then entered.

 

"Ah, Ladies! How wonderful to see you! Please, have a seat." For an instant, as they first caught a glimpse of him seated behind his massive desk, Dumbledore had looked tired and, for the first time they could remember, old. But then he smiled and the familiar twinkle returned to his eyes and the moment passed. Grinning in return, Alinora quickly rounded the desk to give him a brief hug and a kiss on the cheek before rejoining the others and taking a seat.

 

"Thank you for agreeing to come see me so soon after your return. I know you were all hoping for some peace and quiet now that you're home. Hopefully we can clear this up quickly. So far, we've been unable to decide if there was a leak concerning your association with the Order, or if the event itself, a charity fund raiser to help the hospital, was the real target and it's simply coincidence that the three of you were involved." He paused for a moment, his fingers steepled together with his chin resting on top, and stared at them intently.

 

"Is there anything we can do to help figure this out?" Ginny tentatively questioned when he hadn't spoken for a while.

 

"Let us look into it a while longer on our own. If your involvement is not known, I'd prefer to keep it that way. Which means you should stay out of the investigation as well. Once we hear something though, we will let you know immediately." His solemn expression lightened then, and he smiled around at them all. "Now, what's this I've been hearing about Katie and Ginny getting engaged?"

 

The three laughed, and began to fill him in on the more mundane happenings in their lives. Time passed quickly until it was time for lunch to be served in the Great Hall. Dumbledore invited them to join him and the other Professors for lunch. They happily agreed and the four soon left his office.

 

Entering the Great Hall, and passing all the students sitting at the long, house tables brought back many memories, some pleasant and some not as pleasant. The students gawked at them as they walked past and they could hear the whispers as they tried to decide who they were and what they were doing at the school. A couple students seemed to recognize them, as their eyes went wide and they quickly turned to whisper furiously to their seatmates. Alinora was trying very hard not to laugh, but she could hear Ginny giggling and even Katie, generally the more reserved one of the group, was stifling a huge grin.

 

Finally they arrived at the table where the teachers sat. There were a number of familiar faces, but the ones that weren't there stood out even more. They'd lost McGonagall, the former head of Gryffindor house, and Hagrid during the final battle with Voldemort and their absences were glaring holes in the familiar table line up.

 

Dumbledore made seats for them at the table and Alinora found herself seated beside Professor Snape, who was still the Potions Master at Hogwarts, as well as the head of Slytherin House. She had a feeling that it had been deliberate. While neither of the other two actively disliked the man anymore, he'd been too helpful over the years for that, Alinora was the only one he really seemed to like… which she found amusing considering that she was also the only one to have ever yelled at the man during one of his classes and gotten away with it. Or maybe that was why they did get along.

 

"So, Professor, should I pretend I don't know you, or talk to you openly and completely confuse your students who probably don't expect you to associate with rock stars?" Ali asked him unobtrusively as she began filling her plate.

 

"Do you honestly think I care what my students think of me or who I associate with?" he snarled back at her before taking a sip of his drink.

 

 _Fine_ , Ali thought, _have it your way_ and she laughed. Quite loudly in fact. "Ah, Professor, how I've missed your kind consideration for your fellow man. Brings a tear to my eye." Leaning over, before he realized what she was doing, Alinora placed a kiss on his left cheek. Beyond him, she could see some of the newer professors staring at them, eyes goggling, waiting to see how Snape responded to this affront.

 

He calmly put his glass down and turned slightly to face her. She thought she could see a tinge of pink on his cheeks, but in general his face was still and his expression blank. "I see your control is just as lacking as it was when you were a student here, Ms. Roane. What a pity." He turned back to continue eating.

 

Grinning evilly, Ali leaned over again and sniffed gently before whispering in his ear, "Nice cologne, Professor. Is that the one Sara got you for Christmas last year?" This time she could definitely see a tinge of pink on his neck, but he made no response to her comment. "Okay, I'll leave you be, but it really is good to see you again. Do feel free to come by the flat if you feel the need to escape your dungeons and the 'brainless idiots' you teach here. I promise, if you do, to at least try not to be too irritating."

 

Snape smiled faintly, still without looking at her, but softly replied, "I find it hard to believe that it would be possible for you to not be purposefully irritating. I think you've spent too much time around George Weasley by now for that. Though that may be doing _him_ a disservice as I have a feeling that you had that trait long before you arrived here and met up with him and his siblings."

 

Ali laughed softly at his response. "Be that as it may, the invitation stands. You can act on it as you like." Turning, she addressed Professor Flitwick who was seated nearby and proceeded to discuss charm work for the remainder of the meal.

 

Afterwards, Dumbledore escorted them to the doors of the school. As they were about to leave, he mentioned, "We will be having a Yule ball before Christmas. I was wondering if you three would be interested in being our entertainment for the evening. I think the students would enjoy it, and it would be nice to bring some former students back in this capacity."

 

"That sounds like fun." Katie replied. "How soon before Christmas will the ball be held?"

 

"The Saturday before, so the students can still make it home for the holidays if they wish."

 

"I'm willing to come." Ginny said, glancing at Katie and Alinora. "What do you think?"

 

"I think we've got ourselves our next job." Alinora grinned. She stuck out her hand to shake Dumbledore's to seal the deal. "We can finalize the details later, a bit closer to the date, but it does sound like fun. And, unlike last time, we can do more than just sing one song…" she teased, referring to the ball held her last year at Hogwarts, which had been the first time the three had performed together in public.

 

They said their good byes, and then headed out to walk back to Hogsmeade. From there, they would be flooing to meet Colin and Anna to finish the arrangements that would officially make Alinora the twins' godmother in the eyes of the Ministry.

 

"So, Ali, what were you saying to Snape at lunch? And kissing him?!? Did you see the expressions on… well, _everybody's_ face when you did that? Priceless." Ginny grinned evilly. "You realize that he would've hexed any of the rest of us into next week if we'd tried anything like that."

 

"I think Sara's having a good influence on him. The poor man's been hounded by her for years now, since he made the mistake of coming to her attention my last day here. She's wearing him down, I think. I'm not sure what exactly she sees in him- he's really not her type at all that I can tell, but it's her decision. She just has to get him to go along with it!" Alinora shrugged and they continued their walk into town.

 

*********

 

Hours later, after their group excursion to the Ministry, they were finally relaxing at home again.

 

"So, what're the plans for the evening? You guys going out?" Alinora asked lazily from her stretched out position on the rug.

 

"Yes, Brad has a function to go to tonight with some visiting representatives and I said I'd attend with him. I'm hoping it isn't quite as boring as it sounds like it might be, but I'm not holding my breath." They laughed.

 

"I'm having dinner with Harry, Ron and Hermione tonight. It's been such a long time since the four of us have been able to get together and just talk. We're going to go to Ron and Hermione's place and I said I'd show up a bit early. I think Hermione wants to talk to me about the situation with Mum. Don't know what I can do to help, but at least I can listen."

 

"That sounds like fun… okay, maybe not the talk with Hermione, but the rest sounds good." Alinora said, smiling at Ginny, who was absent mindedly twirling her long, red hair around a finger.

 

"What about you Ali? Do you and George have plans for the evening?"

 

"Not officially. He has some obligations early this evening and he said he'd try to stop by if he got done in time. Either way, I plan to have a relaxing evening at home. With or without his company." She laughed at the expressions on their faces. "I happen to like having some time alone, and I have an urge to crank the music up and have some 'me' time tonight. Though, if he does show up, I'm certainly not going to turn him away at the door…" she said, smirking, "I'm sure I can find some use for him here."

 

"I don't wanna know!" Ginny cringed, eyes sparkling, "He is my brother you know. I certainly don't want to know any details."

 

"Good, cause you weren't getting any." Ali stuck her tongue out at Ginny, who responded in kind.

 

"You two aren't ever going to grow up, are you?"

 

"I certainly hope not. How boring would that be?" Ali replied, climbing to her feet before extending a hand to her friends to pull them up as well. "Time to be moving. You guys have dates to get to and I have some peace and quiet calling my name. Don't let me hold you back." she said, pushing them, laughing, towards their respective bedrooms.

 

When they'd finally left for the evening, and the house was silent, Alinora stood quietly in the middle of the living room, arms outstretched. Her head was back and her eyes were closed. Around her hands, there started a slight glow. As it brightened, it expanded until the whole room was lit up by it. With a sudden movement, Alinora's head snapped up and her hands flew forward to clasp in front of her. Gone were the room's normal furnishings. Replacing them was the room set up they used to practice for performances. The far wall was dominated by a large mirror that spanned the entire width of the room. In one corner was an elaborate sound system.

 

"Humm, now, what do I feel like listening to tonight…?" Ali wondered out loud as she flipped through the musical assortment she'd collected over the years. Finally giving up on making a decision, she set it on random and pressed play. As the music started, she began to smile. Letting the music flow through her, she began to dance and hum along with the song until finally she began to sing.

 

She had no idea how long the music had been playing when a slower song finally cued up. Swaying slightly along with the music, smiling in memory, she remembered back to her first real dance with George. It had been to this song. She'd been giving him dancing lessons for a couple months at that point and this had been the public unveiling of his new skill. It had been wonderful to dance with him, gliding together across the dance floor. It had been so long since they'd had the time to that. Just dance together.

 

Lost in her memories, she almost didn't hear the knock at the door. Pausing the music, she ran quickly out of the room. Glancing through the door's peephole, she smiled. _Speak of the devil…_ she thought, before throwing open the door and embracing a somewhat startled George.

 

"I was just thinking about you," she grinned, taking his arm to pull him inside. "Come dance with me."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 8: An Interesting Proposition_ **

*********

 

The weeks had flown by since the Ladies had returned to London. It was now mid-October. They'd enjoyed being able to hang out with their families and all the friends they'd lost touch with since they'd been out of the country so much. Despite her comments to the contrary, Alinora had agreed to help out occasionally in the twins' shop in Hogsmeade and had been quite enjoying it. It was especially fun on those weekends when the students from Hogwarts were let loose on the town. It was amusing to consider the trouble the items she sold them would cause once they returned to school…

 

To Alinora's great surprise, Snape had actually taken her up on her offer to visit. It had been quite a shock to open the door of the flat and find Snape standing on the doorstep, but she'd happily ushered him inside. They'd talked for a while about some of the spells she'd developed in recent years to help with their 'other' job and he offered a few suggestions about alternative uses for a few of them now that she was back home. _Quite the creative imagination that man has_ she remembered thinking after one of his more outlandish suggestions.

 

Before he'd left, she had asked him about Draco Malfoy. Ali felt slightly responsible for him since she'd been present at his father's death. Not that there was much she could've done to stop it by the time she had known what was happening, and ignoring completely the fact that the man had been trying to kill her at the time, but she still felt a bit guilty about the situation. As she'd lost her own father not long before, she felt a sense of kinship with him. So, she asked about him whenever she had the chance to speak to Snape privately, as he was one of the few who still regularly saw him. As usual, he was 'fine', or what passed for that now.

 

Draco had not joined with Voldemort for his final battle. Instead, he had withdrawn almost completely from the wizarding world after leaving Hogwarts and seemed content to lock himself in Malfoy Manor and work on his magical projects in solitude. He did venture out on occasion to various Ministry functions and donated considerably to a number of charities, but he had changed drastically from the brash and arrogant young man they'd known at school. Alinora had become quite irritated with Ron on a number of occasions when he'd made rude comments about Draco and finally, he'd stopped making them around her.

 

Other than that, things had been rather uneventful. A very nice change of pace for them all and one they definitely appreciated.

 

*********

 

Alinora laughed rather shakily as she and George stumbled out of the fireplace at the Burrow. His arm was securely wrapped around her waist and hers clutched at his shoulder as he carefully helped her to a nearby couch. By the time they'd made it the short distance, Ali's face had gone even paler than normal and she was clenching her lower lip between her teeth to keep from crying out.

 

"Mum!" George called out in a worried voice, soon echoed by Alinora's cry of "Molly?!?"

 

There was a startled crash from the kitchen and soon Molly appeared in the doorway. Darting a quick, confused look at George, she finally noticed that Ali was gritting her teeth in pain and clutching at her right ankle.

 

"Oh you poor thing, what happened?" she asked, staring at them quizzically as she pulled out her wand and hurried over. She quickly summoned a footstool from the far end of the room. "Now, you put your foot up on that and let me take a look. I thought the two of you weren't going to be doing anything more dangerous than having lunch in town. How did this happen?" As she spoke, she had been carefully removing Alinora's shoe, wincing slightly at the hisses of pain that this sparked.

 

"It wasn't supposed to be a dangerous morning at all, until Ali decided to try and throw herself under a bus…" George remarked offhandedly while watching what his mother was doing. He winced himself when Ali hit him for his comment.

 

Sighing, Ali replied, "There was some loose pavement and I stumbled on it, wrenching my ankle pretty badly. There was a bus passing, but there was no danger of me launching myself underneath it." She shot George a withering glance which he ignored.

 

"Well, that does sound rather exciting… Now, hold still. This will briefly hurt, but then it should be all better." Molly placed the tip of her wand against Alinora's swollen ankle and uttered a minor healing charm. Her ankle went white hot for a brief moment, causing her to cry out and clutch at George's arm, but just as quickly it faded again and now the ankle felt fine.

 

"Oh, that's wonderful! Thank you so much, Molly. Much better!" Alinora examined her ankle carefully, twisting it around and bending it to check that everything seemed to be working fine before she replaced her shoe. As she was distracted, she missed the pointed look Molly was giving George.

 

"Come on, Ali girl; let's go sit outside on the swing for a while before we head back. I'm sure Mum was in the middle of something important before we barged in here, but I want you to have a bit of a rest because of that ankle, just to make sure it's okay." He gave her a hand up and carefully escorted her out to the back of the house where a swing had been set up years before. They both sat down, Ali snuggled up beside George with his arm around her shoulder.

 

" _I_ know why you _really_ stumbled. I saw you looking at those magazines with the three of you on the cover. You were trying to read the headlines and got distracted…"

 

Alinora started to laugh. "You got me! Can't deny I was looking. It was another one of those ones predicting what 'famous for the moment' person I am currently associated with. I was wondering who I was dating now in the eyes of the world. I can't quite figure out why they're so interested."

 

"You're famous. People have been reading about you for years and they now look on the three of you as friends. Friends want to know about things like that and it's the magazine's job to give it to them. Since you're not cooperating with real information, they have to do the best they can."

 

"I can see that, but in my opinion they should just wait until I parade my husband around for them as opposed to them inventing one for me." she said tartly.

 

"So you _are_ going to get married at some point?" he teased, "Break the hearts of all those single guys out there who think you've made up the whole secret admirer thing, or that the tabloids have," he added, sticking a tongue out at her, "and that they could possibly have a chance with you?"

 

She smiled at him tenderly, but with a hint of mischief, "They haven't had a chance since I was sixteen, but no need to be cruel and tell them that. Let them have their dreams."

 

"Sixteen huh? And yet you turned me down…"

 

She snorted and poked him in the side, "As I've said before…! We both know you only asked because you knew I wouldn't accept at that point. We'd just left Hogwarts! I think Moody was petrified that I'd drop everything I'd been working on and towards and say yes… he knew how much I wanted to," she smiled at the memory. "Hopefully, you knew that too." she said, turning to look at him. She grinned and reached over to run her hand down the side of his face then pulled him towards her and gave him a long kiss.

 

He eventually pulled back, cleared his throat and continued the conversation. "So, if I asked you now what would you say?"

 

"If you asked me to marry you?" she asked, "I'd say that it's about time and when's the wedding?" She chuckled softly.

 

"So, if I asked you to marry me today, you'd say yes and we could get married immediately?" he pressed.

 

Ali looked at him curiously, there was something going on here, but she couldn't quite figure out what yet. "Sure, why not? As long as my family and friends are around, time and place are pretty unimportant. Why?"

 

But George had now gotten up off the swing and, taking her hand, he knelt down in front of her. "Ms. Alinora Roane, would you do me the great honor of agreeing to marry me? Today, in the company of our friends and family?" He looked up at her shocked expression, and couldn't help feeling a tiny bit of satisfaction; he so very, very rarely was able to catch her completely off guard. Then she grinned happily, pulled him to his feet and threw her arms around him.

 

"I would be very happy to do so, Mr. George Weasley! And when **_exactly_** today is this wedding supposed to take place?" she asked, pulling back to smile up at him.

 

He was distracted from replying by the arrival of Harry and Ginny from inside and Katie and Brad from around the corner of the house. Both guys were grinning broadly and Katie and Ginny both looked a bit confused to see the others there. "We were thinking we could have a triple ceremony in…" George glanced at his watch, "about two hours- four o'clock. You girls think you can be ready?" The challenge was obvious, as was the fact that he assumed that they would accept.

 

Alinora, Katie and Ginny looked at each other questioningly. Slowly, they all began to grin mischievously as they nodded in acceptance. "Yes, I think two hours is more than plenty of time. But, I think we better start preparing **now**!" With that, Ali kissed George again, whispering, "See you soon," then grabbed Katie and Ginny as they retreated into the house calling for Molly.

 

"I'm in the living room girls."

 

They entered the room to see Molly helping a blonde woman from the fireplace.

 

"Mother!" Katie gasped, and ran to give her a hug. Molly turned to smile at Ginny and Alinora before turning Alinora's attention to a dark haired woman sitting in a chair in the corner.

 

"Mom?!?" Ali cried out in a surprised voice before quickly crossing the room to greet her. She wasn't sure how George had managed to get her mother here, but other than the wedding itself it was the best surprise he could've arranged. She'd always hoped that it would be possible to have her mother present when she married, but, as Angelique is a selkie, neither had ever been sure it would be possible for her to travel to wherever the wedding took place, or even if the groom's family would be accepting enough of her to make it a good idea. George and his family had always taken Alinora's unique family history in stride.

 

Happily, she turned to introduce her mom to two of her closest friends. "Mom, I know you've seen pictures and heard me talk about them for ages, but now I'd like you to officially meet Ginny and Katie."

 

Standing next to each other, the family resemblance was quite apparent. Despite obvious differences in coloring, Angelique's brown hair and brown eyes to Alinora's auburn hair and (generally) green eyes, in every other way they were matched. They could've almost passed for sisters.

 

"It's nice to finally get to meet the two, the four," Angelique quickly amended with a smile as she inclined her head to the other two mothers, "of you. Ali's told me so much about all of you over the years. I'm glad it was possible to finally meet you in person." She had nervously been smoothing a brown, fur cloak over her arm, which Alinora finally noticed.

 

"Oh, do you want me to look after that for you while you're here, Mom? Will that make things easier for you?"

 

Angelique bit her lip as she looked down at the fur, before nodding decisively and handing it over to her daughter. "You'd better, just to be safe."

 

Ginny nodded slightly to herself as she watched the interaction. Noticing Katie's look of confusion, she mouthed, "I'll explain later."

 

"Well now girls, as we're on a bit of a schedule for the afternoon, I think we'd better be heading up so you three can figure out what you're wearing. That'll also get us out of the way so things can be arranged down here." Molly gestured out the window where they could see a small group of people milling around outside. She began shooing the girls and their mothers towards the staircase.

 

"So, Molly, just how long have they been planning this?" Ali asked, taking a last look outside, before turning to face the woman who was soon to become her mother-in-law.

 

Molly smiled serenely as she continued to urge them out of the room. "Simply ages, my dear. Simply ages. You're a hard group to keep secrets from, I must say. I guess that's just a hazard of the job."

 

She'd finally succeeded in herding them to the staircase leading up to the bedrooms. With one last glance behind, they all turned the corner at the landing and passed out of sight.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 9: Here Come the Brides_ **

*********

 

The three brides-to-be and their mothers met up in Ginny's old bedroom to begin planning their wedding attire. Katie took a seat at the desk while Ginny was perched on the dresser. Molly and Katie's mother, Darlene, took the bed and Alinora and Angelique shared an old, overstuffed chair in the corner with Ali sitting on the arm to leave room for her mom.

 

"So, any ideas on what you'd like your dresses to look like? Do you want to go traditional or more… creative?" Darlene asked, after they were all settled.

 

Katie, Ali and Ginny exchanged glances as they considered the question. Alinora laughed softly, shaking her head slightly, and looked down at her mother. Angelique just rolled her eyes and smiled back at her. They knew each other all too well and had no doubt as to what Ali's response to that would be.

 

"You know," began Katie slowly, "I wanted a traditional wedding at one point. Growing up, I was always such a tomboy, just one of the guys, that I always thought that I wanted this to be the ultimate girly event. Long, white dress, elaborate flowers and decorations… I wanted to show the world that I was a girl, but I think that's been pretty well established by this point; I think I'd rather just enjoy the day." She looked apologetically at her mother, who looked briefly disappointed before shrugging and smiling resignedly.

 

"I had a feeling that would be your decision. As long as you're happy with it, then I'm happy with it. It's not as if your father or brother will notice what you're wearing anyway…" she laughed.

 

"Well, I think Ginny and I would have to agree with you." Ali added, glancing over to see Ginny nod. "I think creative and original is definitely the way to go for us. So," she said, pointing at some paper lying on the desk near Katie, "I think you should get to work on sketching out ideas for us, as you are the costume designer!"

 

"We trust you. Besides, if you left it to Ali or me, we'd all be late for the wedding since neither of us can ever make up our minds about stuff like that."

 

Katie shot them both a quick salute before pulling the paper over and quickly started to sketch. Ali and Ginny strained to see over her shoulder at what she was doing, but neither could get a good look and they finally gave up. Instead, they started asking the mothers questions about the wedding, but there too they were frustrated as none would give them any information about plans for the afternoon. They were all rather relieved when there was a knock on the door, which quickly opened to admit Anna and a large stroller.

 

"Anna!" Ali jumped off the chair and quickly crossed the room to give her a hug. "How are you? And the little ones?" Ali bent over to brush her fingers over the cheeks of the sleeping twins.

 

"We're all fine." Anna replied from over Ginny's back as she received a hug from her as well. "Congratulations to you all. A triple wedding- who would've guessed?" Her eyes were twinkling as she smirked at the three.

 

Ginny snorted. "Obviously not us!" she said, rolling her eyes.

 

"Well, we can't all be all knowing, now can we? I came to see how you were doing on coming up with your dresses." Anna left the stroller with Molly, as she walked over to peer over Katie's shoulder. "That's a good start. Fits with some ideas I had as well." The group and Colin had met Anna when they'd hired her to help with costumes for one of their tours. She'd helped out, off and on, since then for major events.

 

Anna pulled the quill out of Katie's hand and gently pulled her from her seat. "I'll take it from here. Now, you three need to pop off back to the flat and get cleaned up. If there's anything you feel you have to have for this afternoon, bring it, but otherwise just get back here so we can get you ready. Hair wet, no make-up. Got it?" They nodded, attempting to look solemn. "Good. You have twenty minutes. I suggest you leave… now!"

 

With a startled look at each other, the three Apparated home.

 

"Now then, here's what I had in mind…" Anna said, beginning to pull items out of her bag while the mothers gathered around her.

 

*********

 

They met up later in their living room, still within the allotted twenty minutes, wrapped in identical robes with their wet hair hanging down their backs. None of them had anything in their hands, though each appeared to have something within the pocket of their robe.

 

Cocking an eyebrow at the other two as she joined them, Ali glanced pointedly at the identical bulges. Putting her hand into her own pocket, she pulled out a small, midnight blue box. First Ginny, then Katie, did the same until all three were holding a small box in their hand.

 

Alinora laughed before shoving hers back into her pocket. "At least we all were able to get these ready before they sprung this on us." They'd decided a while back to go ahead and get wedding bands made for the guys, in preparation for what they each knew would eventually happen.

 

The idea for the rings had been adapted from a couple sources. The originating idea had been the necklaces Ali had given her friends, while they were all in school, which contained protection charms. From there, they'd gone on to develop a different style of necklace that actually allowed them to know if the people attuned to the stones within it were in trouble or danger. As these necklaces were rather glaringly obvious, the twins had helped them develop a way to make them completely invisible when worn, which they always were.

 

Another source had been, of all things, Alinora's wand. Her father had had it made for her when she turned eleven and it contained the entwined hairs of a mermaid, a selkie and a witch; Alinora's grandmother, mother and self. Once she remembered that the hair of a 'magical creature' could be helpful when casting spells, they'd decided to incorporate their own hair within the rings. Thus, the metal strands that made up the woven band actually encased a hair from the woman who had had it made. They figured it couldn't hurt.

 

Because of the nature of the rings, each had been made especially for the man who would wear it. They had been tuned to work only for them and protection charms had been woven into the very metal they were made of to keep them safe. Not that the Ladies were expecting any problems, but it was always nice to be prepared. Ali was pretty sure that each of them had added something other than just the protection charms, but none of them had divulged any additional details.

 

"Oh, this came just a moment ago too." Ginny said, disturbing Alinora's thoughts, as she handed a piece of parchment to her.

 

Alinora read it quickly before starting to laugh. "I'm quite curious to see just what you two came up for me to wear today!" she exclaimed, grinning at Katie.

 

"Don't look at me! Anna came up with the final design. And did you see what _my_ instructions are?!? I don't think that's possible to do without the use of magic!" Katie groaned.

 

"Good thing you're a witch then, isn't it?" Ginny smirked before they split up to gather the requested items before returning to the Burrow.

 

*********

 

While they were gone, the mothers and Anna had been joined by Hermione, Angelina Johnson Weasley and Alicia Spinnet Jordan. As soon as they appeared in the hallway outside of Ginny's former bedroom, Molly bustled forward to meet them.

 

"There won't be enough room for all of you in there," she said, gesturing to Ginny's room behind her, "So, Ali, you'll be in the twins' old room. Your mother and Anna will be helping you. Katie, Darlene and Angelina are in Ron's room. Ginny, Hermione and I will be in here. Alicia has agreed to run any other errands we may need done. If these arrangements work for you, I'd suggest we disperse and continue the preparations…" Molly looked questioningly at the three women, none of whom said anything to contradict her arrangements, and then turned towards the open door behind her.

 

Alinora gestured for Ginny and Katie to hand her their ring boxes. Pulling out her wand, Ali quickly used it to inscribe a gold colored **_G_** on her blue box, an **_H_** on Ginny's green box and a **_B_** on Katie's black one. She then called Alicia over to join them.

 

"As you've been designated as official errand runner for the afternoon, we have the first one for you now. Please take these boxes to Dumbledore. There's no one else they could possibly have officiating; the man is into everything! On the bizarre chance that I'm wrong, give them to whomever they need to go to. Do **not** let the guys see these! Okay?"

 

At Alicia's nod, Ali handed her the three small boxes, which she quickly placed in her pocket before heading off down the stairs.

 

"Okay, that's done. I don't know about you, but I'm going to go see what creative liberties Anna's taken with my wedding attire. I'm quite curious considering the shoes I was told to bring…" She looked down at the three inch spike heeled black boots she was holding and then shrugged. "We did say that we didn't want 'traditional' and it appears that we will be getting what we asked for."

 

"I generally like getting what I ask for, so hopefully this will also be a good thing." Ginny replied. "Oops. Looks like Mum is getting restless. Time to be off to be costumed for our next performance!"

 

The three laughed, but each reached out to grip the hand of the other two for a brief moment before they split up to go to their designated room to continue their wedding preparations.

 

*********

 

Despite the elaborate preparations, they were ready in plenty of time, which gave their helpers time to freshen up themselves and join the rest of the guests outside. Anna had been taking pictures of the process throughout the afternoon and assured Alinora that Colin would be taking the 'official' wedding pictures during the ceremony. Then, with one last hug, she collected her children and headed out of the house.

 

The three met back up in the living room. The house was empty now, except for them, and they appreciated the chance to relax, by themselves, before the ceremony began.

 

Ginny was the first down the stairs. She was dressed in a black blouse that was slightly ruffled around the neckline and draped off her shoulders, exposing her pale, lightly freckled skin. Her skirt was cut high on the left, hitting her about mid-thigh, while the right dipped down a few inches below her knee. It was also black, embroidered with swirling designs in black thread that were hard to see when she was standing still. When she moved, though, the skirt shimmered with shades of red, green, blue and purple that showed off the designs. She was wearing heeled, black sandals that tied around her ankles and her hair had been loosely curled and hung loose down her back. She wore no jewelry except for the emerald engagement ring she'd received from Harry and a black pearl necklace, wrapped choker-like around her neck, which had been a gift from Ali's mother.

 

Katie soon joined her in the living room, carefully holding up the side of the ankle-length peach sundress she was wearing so as to not trip over it. This exposed the high slit that went up the right side of the dress and the sandals that laced up to mid-calf.

 

At first glance, Ginny thought the dress looked rather simple. It was a beautiful dress with spaghetti straps and simple lines, that hugged her figure without appearing tight, but, other than the slit, there didn't appear to be anything too out of the ordinary about it.

 

Then Katie reached the bottom of the stairs and, grinning slightly at Ginny, slowly turned in a circle so she could get the full effect. That was where the dress showed its uniqueness. While the front had been almost conservative, there was no back to the dress until it reached Katie's waist. The only thing that broke the long expanse of bare skin was a long string of pearls. From the front it appeared that Katie, too, was wearing a choker of pink tinged pearls, but from the back it could be seen as an opera length strand that draped to follow the curve of the dress. Another gift from Ali's mother. The only other jewelry was her diamond engagement ring from Brad.

 

"Nice," Ginny said with a grin, before twirling to show off her own outfit. Her skirt flared up as she spun and her eyes were sparkling with excitement. They both turned to wait for Alinora, whose steps could be heard on the stairs.

 

Ali, of course, had to make a bit of a production of her entrance. As she slowly rounded the landing and began descending the final stretch of steps into the living room, she took her time. Granted, considering the three inch heels she was wearing, walking slowly down the stairs only made good sense. She _had_ just hurt her ankle earlier that day, though it felt like ages ago considering what had been going on since.

 

As Alinora came into view, Katie's jaw dropped slightly and, after a slight, stunned silence, Ginny gave a wolf whistle. She was dressed in a deep green corset top that ended slightly above her navel. Her skirt was ankle length with slits on either side that extended up to mid-thigh. When she moved, the skirt would swirl around her legs, exposing the boots she'd been instructed to bring as well as a long expanse of leg, and occasionally glimpses of her abdomen would show where the top and skirt met. Her hair was as curly as usual, pulled up on the sides and allowed to cascade down her back.

 

As Ali reached the bottom of the stairs and joined them, she too pirouetted to show off the entire look. As she turned, they could see that tiny pearls had been woven in among her curls. Now that they could better see her outfit, they noticed that the reason the green appeared so dark was on account of the mass of intricate black embroidery that covered it entirely.

 

Alinora took in what Katie and Ginny were wearing, striding around each to get a better look.

 

"Well now, don't we completely break the mold for what is considered 'traditional' for weddings? Wizard or muggle, it makes no difference. Though, I'll admit, I'm impressed with just how comfortable this actually is. Who would've thought?" Ali glanced down at her clothing, running a hand gently over the material, with a pleased smile on her face.

 

"So, was this along the lines of what you'd sketched earlier?" Ginny asked, turning to look at Katie.

 

"Not completely, but along the same lines. I certainly had a bit more cloth involved in my own design," she replied, gesturing towards her back, "But I like what Anna did with it."

 

"I just hope that they've accounted for our outfits and have found a way to warm things up outside. It's October and rather chilly. None of us are dressed for that in the least." Ali said wryly, gesturing to the short, or non-existent, sleeves they all were wearing.

 

"I get the impression that the guys have left nothing to chance. It'll be warm enough. And if it's not, I think we all know some sort of spell we can use." Katie replied calmly.

 

They stared at each other in silence, a nearby clock ticking the countdown to four o'clock when the wedding was to begin. After all that they'd been through together over the years, the conversations they'd had, the experiences they'd shared, no words were needed now.

 

This was something they'd each been looking forward to for a long while now, and sharing it together only made it that much more special. Their friendship had been tested, as had their relationships, and each had proven solid.

 

Katie's relationship with Oliver Wood hadn't worked, but they knew that Brad was just right for her.

 

Ginny and Harry had been tested almost from the moment they had met, and long before they had even known that they would be a couple. If they could survive that, they could survive anything.

 

Alinora and George were so well suited, challenging and supporting each other equally, that, even ignoring the vision she'd had when they met, they all knew they were meant to be together. It had only been a matter of time. The outcome had been inevitable.

 

The clock began to strike the four o'clock hour.

 

Ginny cocked her head to the side and smiled at the other two, "I think that's our cue. Let's do this."

 

Nodding in agreement, they linked arms and exited the Burrow. It was time.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 10: The Ceremony_ **

*********

 

As they exited the house, they could hear a low hum of noise coming from the area where the Weasleys and friends had always gathered to play Quidditch. As the path leading to it had been lined with cauldrons, burning merrily and casting a comforting, warm glow, they assumed that was the way to go. The path itself had been smoothed so that, even in heels, it was an easy walk.

 

They quietly made their way down the path, until the hum of noise became the sounds of many voices and they could begin to see figures ahead through a gap in the trees surrounding the clearing.

 

Of one accord, they stopped just out of sight of the gathered crowd.

 

"Are we ready, Ladies? The audience has gathered and is ready for the show to begin. The stage is set, costumes are on…" Katie began, running through their pre-show checklist.

 

"You nut!" Ginny laughed, before throwing her arms around her in a warm hug. Then, gesturing to Alinora, they pulled her in too until they were in a tight, three-way hug. They stood there for a moment longer before breaking apart.

 

"Right. Let's go." Alinora said briskly, dabbing discreetly at her eyes, "I have a husband waiting for me and I don't want him to think I've stood him up."

 

Laughing, the three continued down the path and into the cheerfully decorated clearing. There were people everywhere, blurring into nameless faces, as they made their way to the center where they could see Dumbledore standing with their men.

 

Ali's face lit up at the sight of George, standing rather tensely to the left of Dumbledore. As he saw her approach, some of the tension melted away and he took a half step forward, as if to come to meet her. He stopped at a comment from someone nearby and waited impatiently as she walked a few steps closer. At that point, his restraint failed him and he quickly strode forward to meet Alinora.

 

Alinora held out her hands to him and, coming to a halt in front of her, he took them in his and drew her to him. Leaning over, he placed a kiss on her cheek before whispering, "You look absolutely brilliant. Thank you for agreeing to marry me."

 

"Silly man," she teased back as he turned and took her arm to lead her back to where Dumbledore was waiting, smiling in an amused fashion. "As if you ever had a chance of getting away from me."

 

In the back of her mind, she noticed that the other two couples had also joined hands and were moving into position around Dumbledore, but her attention was now focused entirely on George and what they were about to do. She had one last fleeting thought that it was good that there would be pictures since she was about to miss the weddings of two of her best friends and then she forgot about it.

 

Alinora and George stepped onto a large round disk and faced Dumbledore. The three couples were arranged in a half circle around him, with their guests arranged behind them. After they'd all arrived, Dumbledore raised his hands and each couple was enclosed in a glowing circle of light.

 

"Thank you all for coming today to celebrate the triple occasion of marriage. These three couples stand before you now willing to pledge their lives to each other and bind themselves into a single unit. Marriage, whether between muggles, or witches and wizards, has never been something to take lightly, or as a joke. Today, these young people will speak their pledges to each other and you, their friends, family and loved ones, will be able to judge just how seriously they take these vows." Dumbledore's quiet voice had carried easily over the gathered throng, causing all extra conversations to end. Now all attention was focused on them.

 

Ignoring the crowd, ignoring Dumbledore, George and Alinora turned to look at each other, hands clasped firmly together. For a moment, neither spoke, content to simply enjoy the moment that they'd waited six years for. Then, Ali smiled, wrinkling her nose, and released one hand to lightly tap George on the nose. He laughed softly, before retrieving her hand. With a deep breath, he began.

 

"Alinora. _Ali_ ," he corrected, smiling tenderly down at her, "I don't think there are words to describe how much you mean to me and just how much I love you. I find it hard to believe that it took me as long as it did to realize just how much you mean to me, but I don't plan to waste any more time. I love the way you make me smile when I'm in a bad mood. I love the way you challenge me to do better, to _be_ better, than I think I can. I love the way you accept people, befriend them and bring out the best in them and show it to everyone. I love that you can see the ridiculous in ordinary situations. I love that you have always supported my dreams and done whatever you can to make them reality. But, most of all, I simply love _you_. The way you talk, the way you laugh, the way you're always singing or humming. The list goes on. I am honored that you have accepted me to be your husband and I happily pledge my life to you." George's eyes were sparkling slightly with unshed tears as he finished.

 

"George, there are many reasons that I love you. Many reasons why I am honored to be standing here with you today. Too many to name, though I've tried to make sure you know what they are. I love that you support me in everything I do and allow me to support you when you need it. I love that you accept everything about me, no matter how odd or unfamiliar it is. I love that you're willing to try new things simply because you know it would please me. I love your creativity and imagination, even when it means you're testing them on me. I love that my being a success in my career or having outside interests doesn't threaten you, but only gives us more to share with each other. I love the way you look at me, like I'm the most amazing person you've ever seen, even when I'm sick and look a mess and probably scare small children with my appearance. I love you. I always have, even before we'd met and I knew who you were. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you. I'm sure it'll be an interesting experience. I'm honored that you have accepted me to be your wife and I happily pledge my life to you." Alinora spoke the closing words, laughing and crying at the same time.

 

Neither she nor George noticed the unwavering crystal brightness of the surrounding orb, but their guests did. The binding was a true one. Had any doubts been present or falsehoods spoken, the color of the orb would have shown those falsehoods. It worked along the lines of a truth spell, though it didn't force the truth to be spoken; only showing when it was not.

 

George carefully wiped the tears from her cheeks and enfolded her in a hug, as they waited for the orb to disappear. When it finally did, they turned, smiling, to look at Albus Dumbledore. Their hands were linked and they took a moment to observe their fellow marriage participants. All were smiling happily.

 

Dumbledore gestured with his wand and six small ring boxes floated over to each of the participants.

 

Alinora reached out to pluck the box holding George's ring from the air before turning once again to face him.

 

George gave her a mischievous smile before opening the box he was holding and removing the ring in such a manner that she was unable to see it. He quickly stuck the box in his pocket. Reaching out, he took her left hand in his and finally showed her the ring.

 

Ali gasped softly and turned to look around for her mom. Angelique was standing nearby, tears streaming down her face though she was smiling happily. She gave her daughter a slight nod, signifying that she realized that Alinora had recognized the source of the ring. The stone, a cabochon star sapphire, had come from the ring given to Angelique from Marcus for their own wedding. It had been reset in a swirling platinum setting.

 

George showed her the inscription he'd had etched inside the band, _All My Love_ , before slipping it on her ring finger with a whispered, "With this ring…" and a kiss on the forehead.

 

Ali wiped her eyes and briefly admired the ring on her finger. Then, she opened the box she was holding and removed George's ring. Giving him a mischievous smile of her own, she hid it from his sight while reaching out to put the ring box in another of his pockets. "No pockets in this thing…" she said softly, causing him to chuckle. She reached out and took his left hand in hers and finally showed him the ring she'd had made for him. Inscribed within the band was the phrase _Forever and For Always_. As she placed the ring on his finger, it briefly glowed red, causing George's eyes to go wide in surprise, before it returned to its normal silvery appearance.

 

Reaching up to cup the side of his face in her hand, Alinora brought his face down to hers. As they formally sealed the binding with a kiss, the audience around them broke into cheers and began pelting them with colorful bits of confetti. Breaking apart with a laugh, they turned to face the others.

 

Alinora turned to look at Katie and Ginny, as they each turned to glance at her and each other. Leaving George's side, Alinora walked towards the other two where they met in a group hug. Alinora spared another minute and returned to Dumbledore, giving him a hug as well, before rejoining George and entering the crowd of well-wishers.

 

*********

 

There were so many people there. Alinora couldn't quite grasp how much effort had gone into arranging this wedding and getting everyone they loved there for it. There were friends she'd known since she was a child: Sara and Remi, though she had lost her other former teacher, Gerald Blackstaff, during an assignment for the Order a couple years back. There were friends from school: Pansy, Justin, Alicia, Lee, Neville, Dean, Seamus, and Snape… And then there was her family: her mom, the Weasleys, Hermione, Colin, Anna, the twins, and Angelina. Charlie had even brought his muggle girlfriend, Julia, to meet everyone. If she could survive this, she'd fit in just fine. It was a mad house, and just what she'd wanted.

 

Bill's wife, Fleur, was cradling their toddler daughter, Bella, and talking animatedly with Angelique in a far corner of the area. In another area, tables bursting with wonderful food were arranged for hungry guests. In the center of the space, once the ceremony was over, a dance floor had been constructed with small tables set up around it for those who simply wanted to watch the proceedings. After circulating for a while, Alinora and George finally settled, and worked out some nervous energy on the dance floor.

 

A couple songs later, Alinora laughingly called for a halt. "I need something to drink. Why don't we grab some punch, or whatever that is over there, and go sit with Colin and Anna for a while?"

 

George nodded in assent and the two quickly made their way off the dance floor. George seated Ali at the table with the other two before going to find drinks for them all.

 

"So, where are the twins?" Ali asked, looking around curiously.

 

Anna chuckled. "Molly has taken quite a liking to them and has 'borrowed' them for the afternoon while we are free to enjoy ourselves. She's over there with your mother and Fleur. I think she'd have claimed Bella by now too, but Fleur is a bit too possessive still."

 

"So, are you enjoying yourselves?" George asked, returning to the table while followed by four floating glasses of punch. Concentrating slightly, he waited until the drinks were appropriately distributed, then took a seat next to Ali.

 

"Of course we are!" Colin answered in astonishment. "It's wonderful to be able to be here and see our closest friends getting married. You guys are my family now. You've all been wonderful to Anna and me, and now the twins as well. I can't imagine anywhere else I'd rather be." Colin's expression, always so cheerful and excited, practically shone with his happiness for them all.

 

"I'm glad." Ali said simply, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

 

"Hey, the music's starting back up again," George said, tapping his foot with the beat, "Want to dance?" he asked, glancing over at Alinora.

 

"Not yet. Dance with Anna. She's been wanting to learn for a while…"

 

"Yeah, we were about to start lessons when we found out Anna was pregnant and, since she wasn't feeling all that well in the beginning, we decided to postpone it and haven't gotten back to it yet."

 

"We should all go," Alinora said happily, "Take lessons together. It would be fun."

 

"Ali, you already know how to dance." Anna pointed out, rather dryly.

 

"Then we can take something I don't know how to do." Alinora replied, sticking out her tongue at Anna, who laughed. "Now, go dance with my husband," she said, with a little thrill at being able to say those words finally, "I think Ginny's trying to get Colin's attention and I have something to do as well…" she concluded, with a rather evil grin on her face.

 

George cocked an eyebrow at her, but didn't say anything as he helped Anna to her feet and led her to the dance floor. Colin gave her a small kiss on the forehead as he went to join Ginny and some of their friends from school.

 

Alinora sat there in thought for a few moments more before getting to her feet and weaving her way through the mass of tables. She finally stopped at one and, extending her hand, said, "Care to dance, Professor?"

 

"Testing your luck again, Ms. Weasley?" came Snape's sarcastic response.

 

"Always. How can you know your limits if you don't test them? Are you going to turn me down on my wedding day?" Alinora was trying not to smile, but could feel the corners of her mouth straining upwards. "It's completely safe; I won't bite."

 

At that, Snape's lips twitched slightly, but his only response was, "I doubt that." He sat there for a moment longer before slowly rising to his feet. He didn't take her hand, at which she grinned broadly, but he did escort her to the dance floor.

 

Once on the floor, Alinora didn't attempt to engage Snape in conversation and he seemed content with the silence between them.

 

Finally, Alinora broke the silence. "I'm glad you came today. Even if it was only because Sara threatened to do something embarrassing if you didn't come. Thank you."

 

"As if that woman could threaten me with anything," Snape growled in response. "I am completely able to make decisions for myself and simply decided to accept the invitation extended to me by your… husband."

 

"Whatever the reason, I don't care. You came. I appreciate it. I know I've been a trial to you over the years and you've put up with it grandly and with minimal insolence. I can't ask for much more than that, can I?" she smirked.

 

Finally, she caught a glimpse of one of his rare smiles. "You have been a trial, I agree, but an amusing one. I once thought it would have been interesting had you been sorted into Slytherin house, but I have since seen that you are way beyond the scope of the minor and petty squabbles that reign there; you would've taken over with little to challenge you. That would have been a shame. Unfortunately, that meant you had to go to Gryffindor… but I think I can forgive you for that at this point."

 

"I appreciate that… I think," she said with a grin. "And I promise not to tell anyone you said so."

 

"Good. I would deny it completely." He was back to his normal haughty expression, but she could see a slight bit of humor lurking in the back of his dark eyes.

 

At that moment, someone tapped on Snape's shoulder. Stopping their movement, they turned to see George smiling quizzically at them. "I was wondering if I might reclaim my wife now for a dance?"

 

Snape merely nodded, but, before walking off, he leaned over to speak softly in Alinora's ear. "I said you would've been strong in Slytherin, but you became even stronger while in Gryffindor and since. That has been noticed. I've been hearing rumors of people who mean you harm. I have not been able to find out where they started. Be careful." And with that, he turned and walked back to his table, where Sara was waiting for him.

 

"What was that about?" George asked having been unable to hear Snape's parting words.

 

Alinora stood there for a moment, staring after him, not paying attention to what was going on around her, even when Sara finally drug Snape back out on the dance floor for a fast paced dance. Finally, she shook off the chill his words had given her and turned to look up at George. "I'm not really sure, but I'll tell you later. Hopefully it's nothing…. Anyway, I don't wish to worry about anything today! Not while we're celebrating." With a smile, she stepped into his arms and they rejoined the dancers.

 

*********

 

Finally, the evening ended and the guests began making their way home. Pansy stopped by on her way out to give Alinora and George hugs and confirm that she did indeed have the exclusive write-up of the day's triple wedding.

 

"Of course!" Ali exclaimed. "Who else would we trust at that bloody paper to get the details right?!? Have you seen some of the rubbish they've printed in the past? Colin will be sending you pictures for your article first thing in the morning."

 

"Wonderful. I can't wait to see them. Now, I must be off. Justin's waiting…"

 

"Justin, humm?" Alinora said coyly.

 

"Yes, Justin. And you best wipe that look off your face immediately. I can match make on my own quite well enough, thank you very much!" Pansy replied tartly, though with a hint of a smile on her pale face. "I'll see you later. Maybe after the honeymoon," and she walked off.

 

"Honeymoon?" Ali questioned, turning to look up at George. "What honeymoon?"

 

"They are rather traditional, you know. Did you think I'd leave that part out? Though this won't be a triple affair. The others can bloody well take care of their own plans for that!" He gave her a rather lecherous grin, which caused her to giggle.

 

"And where might we be going on this honeymoon?"

 

"It's a surprise. I'll give you hints when we go get your things."

 

"Well then, when does that happen, as you seem to know all the details today, while I'm being kept in the dark?"

 

"Right after you finish saying good bye to your family and are ready to leave. I believe you have something that belongs to your mother that she'll need before she can return home…" he said, giving her a pointed glance.

 

"Her skin! Yes, she'll definitely need that for the transformation. It's just upstairs. I'll go grab it now." With a quick kiss on his cheek, Alinora Apparated into the Burrow. Returning quickly with her mother's brown cloak, she hurried over to George, who had joined her mother.

 

Good-byes were always hard when they concerned her mother. Since Angelique was a selkie and lived in the ocean off the coast of Scotland, the two didn't get to spend much time together. Alinora and George escorted her back into the house so she could use the floo system to return to her former home in Scotland where she could then easily get back to the sea. She didn't like to travel by floo that much, but could do it when necessary, and attending her only child's wedding was definitely a necessity.

 

With one last hug, Angelique threw her handful of powder into the fire place, stepped into the green flames and was gone.

 

Ali sighed softly, and then turned, with a smile, to face George. "So, where are we going?"

 

"To your place, so you can pack."

 

"Ha ha. No, I want a location. You've been keeping too many secrets from me recently…" she teased.

 

"Somewhere warm, with sandy beaches and no one else around. It's a bit tricky to get there, since we can't portkey; I don't want you to be sick for the first half of our honeymoon. What's the fun in that?" he said, leering down at her.

 

Alinora laughed and punched him lightly in the stomach. "Control yourself. I have to pack and we still need to get to this place… Can we leave now, or are we expected around here for a while longer?"

 

"If you've said your good byes, we can leave immediately."

 

"Good. Let's go. I'm looking forward to warm…" With a rather leering grin of her own, Ali stepped back from George, blew him a kiss, then quickly Apparated from the room.

 

George burst into laughter and, with a muttered, " _Women!"_ quickly followed.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 11: A Letter Home_ **

*********

 

November 4th

 

Hi Mom!

 

Greetings from _one_ of the two recent additions to the Weasley family; though I'm sure Harry would send his love too if he knew I was writing… Just think, we're now both part of a _clan_. Who would've thought? Going from an only child to this has been odd, and I thought I had already been a part of the family!

 

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get around to writing you, but I have just recovered from a nasty bout of food poisoning… I think. A group of us went to dinner after returning from the honeymoon, and I guess we ate something we shouldn't have. Everyone got sick, but I seem to have gotten it the worst. Pretty nasty couple of days there, but I got better! I don't think we'll be going back to that restaurant anytime soon, which is a shame since it was a nice place.

 

George and I have been back from our honeymoon for a little while now and I think I've just about settled back into the mindset of being home (and MARRIED!), though it's been hard. I don't know if he told you where we were going, (since he certainly hadn't told me!) but we went to an incredibly private, and very small, island somewhere out in the ocean. You normally can only get there by using a portkey, but as they make me ill, George had arranged a very convoluted way to get us there that concluded with, of all things, a magic carpet ride. At least it wasn't a broom stick!!!

 

The island was beautiful- warm with those white, sandy beaches and palm trees you see on travel brochures. We had a small bungalow to stay in and our meals were transported in every day; we didn't even have to cook. We spent a lot of time walking on the beach and playing in the ocean. I think George needs to spend a bit more time out there as he was getting rather startled by some of the native creatures. Granted, sharks aren't my favorite thing to run across either, but when will people figure out that they generally don't attack people?!? That's mainly in those muggle movies… This one _was_ a bit more persistent than normal, but it eventually took a hint and left after I screamed at it in Mermish long enough. Another excuse to use all those very inappropriate phrases that would make your ears burn to hear.

 

After so long of only having brief visits where he'd pop in and out during our tours, or when I'd be back in England for a short visit, it was nice to have him **_Completely_** _**To** **Myself**_ for the ten days or so we were there. And since we didn't kill each other, I guess we're going to be just fine. It was nice to be able to cut loose and be as goofy or loud or lovey dovey as we wanted without one of the others, who are always around, making comments. That's not to say that I didn't miss everyone every once and a while, but for the most part the feeling passed quickly.

 

There have been times since our return that I have questioned my sanity for those feelings, considering some of the stunts Fred and Charlie have pulled. They took it upon themselves to 'decorate' the outside of the flat during our absence and probably would've done the inside too, but my wards were too strong. I did tattle on Fred to Angelina and had a long talk with Charlie's girlfriend as well. Between the three of us, we came up with some rather appropriate methods of retribution… Bwahahahahaha!

 

Other news… Katie and Brad have moved into a flat off Diagon Alley so as to be close to the Ministry, while Ginny has moved into Harry's current flat. That's only a temporary solution as the place is a tad too small for two. They've already started looking around for a new one in the same general area. George has moved in with me, since the flat is empty and much more appropriate than the bachelor pad type place he'd been living. I'm actually quite fond of Hogsmeade and with Apparating and the floo network; I don't truly have to be close to anyone to visit them. And I've been here off and on since I was seventeen; I'm attached. And I'd **hate** to have to redo all the wards!

 

I've been out to visit with Colin and family a couple of times since our return. Those twins are growing so quickly! Not that they're walking or talking yet, but you can see a real difference in them in comparison to what they were like two months ago. Quite amazing really. Colin and Anna are thrilled and have become obsessive about their wellbeing, not that that's a bad thing, but they hate to leave them alone. As Molly has told us that they need to get out, and away from the babies, on occasion, the four of us have started going to dance classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights and then to do a bit of dancing at a little place near the studio. It's a muggle establishment so we play it up completely, driving to and from the lessons instead of Apparating, since they aren't too far away from the Creevey residence. It's been a lot of fun and, so far, Anna hasn't felt too out of place since she's the only one without a basic knowledge of dance. I beat it into the guys a long time ago!

 

Oh, I'm enclosing a copy of the article Pansy wrote about the wedding for The Daily Prophet. It's a really nice article, though she told me that the editors were hoping for something "more". Though they wouldn't define what that might be. I guess they wanted more gossip, but as we're all now married, I don't think they'll be getting much more of that. Though I suppose they could begin the, "Is their marriage going to work" thing that seems so popular these days. Sometimes I really don't understand the press. But Pansy is doing well. She stopped by while I was recovering to tell me about the situation between her and Justin. That sounds quite promising… She made me promise not to meddle though. Do I meddle?!? Or, maybe the question should be, have I meddled _recently_?

 

Severus stopped by at one point too, but left rather quickly when Ginny and Harry also stopped by for a visit. He still can't stand Harry, and I'm afraid the feeling's mutual. Severus might have warmed slightly to some of us over the years, but there's too much history there for Harry and he to ever get along.

 

I think I need to be wrapping this up. I need to rest for a little while. Tonight is one of our regularly scheduled dance class nights, and I'm still feeling a bit tired from my illness. George is out doing some work at the office, but he should hopefully be back soon and he's promised me a picnic lunch if it's warm enough. Though that may mean spreading a blanket out on the living room floor and eating there, which would be fine with me. Fewer bugs, you know, and a lavatory right down the hall instead of behind a bush!

 

Until later then!

 

Love,

Alinora

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 12: Things Change_ **

*********

 

"Well, this has turned out to be a quieter evening than I'd originally imagined." George said, studying the cards in his hand intently, "Do you have any fours?"

 

"Nope, go fish." Alinora replied with a smirk. "Yeah, while dancing would've been fun, I'm quite happy to miss it considering the reason. I can't _believe_ that Dennis **_finally_** contacted Colin! I do hope those two can work things out… Do you have any Kings?"

 

George muttered something under his breath before reluctantly pulling two cards out of his hand and passing them over to her. He'd found out earlier that lying did no good since all that had done was cause Alinora to cast a truth spell over them both so neither could cheat.

 

"So, nothing explodes, moves or does anything interesting during this game?" he finally asked in confusion. "Why do muggles play this game anyway?!?"

 

"It's a card game, George, it's not supposed to be life threatening," Ali replied with a small grin. "Once you get use to this one, we can branch out, but this one's better than 'War'. There's no point, or strategy, at all to that one."

 

They continued the game for a while longer until all the cards were gone. At that point, George called a halt.

 

"Whew, too much excitement for me for one night!" he said, wiping his brow with an exaggerated motion. "I need to relax for a bit."

 

Pulling Ali to her feet, he led her to the couch where the two collapsed. She snuggled down into the crook of his arm, not at all loath to be home that evening. As she had told her mom earlier in a letter, she was still recovering from being ill and much weaker than she should be. The dancing lessons, while fun, had been taking a lot of her energy. Besides, if there was any chance that Colin and Dennis could work out their difficulties, she definitely wouldn't complain about one missed night.

 

The two snuggled in silence, the only noise from the crackling of the nearby fire. All was peaceful and calm, until…

 

"Aaaaaaaaaa!"

 

Alinora felt a jabbing pain shoot through her neck and course through her body. She curled up in agony, one hand reaching towards her neck and the location of the pain, and only a quick grab by George kept her from falling off the couch.

 

Then, suddenly, the pain stopped and Ali was left grasping her neck and gasping for air as her body slowly relaxed. When she could finally move, she sat up supported by George.

 

Ali's eyes went wide with fear as she quickly uttered the charm that canceled the concealment charm for her necklace. Reaching behind her head, she undid the clasp and removed it so she could better examine the necklace. The sight of a scorched and fractured stone in the position where the pain had struck sent a chill of fear through her.

 

"Whose is that?" George asked in a very controlled tone of voice.

 

Ali opened her mouth to reply, but for a moment nothing came out. She swallowed and tried again, this time managing to squeeze out, "It's… Colin and Anna's stone."

 

Both sat there in stunned silence, while the meaning slowly sunk in.

 

"No! It can't be right! They were all just going to dinner to talk for a while. How could anything have happened to them doing that?!?" Alinora jumped to her feet and began pacing the room, necklace clutched tightly in her hand. She was silent for a moment; then suddenly, she stopped and spun around to face George who still sat, stunned, on the couch staring blindly at her.

 

"I've got to find them. If they're hurt, they'll need help." Crossing the room, she knelt beside the coffee table and laid the necklace on the surface. Placing her hand above the stone, Ali cast a general location charm.

 

"I can't find them." she said finally, looking up at George, eyes scared.

 

"Try going further back. Adjust the spell to look for them… five minutes ago. That should get us close enough to their current location." George suggested.

 

Nodding slightly, she thought for a moment then cast the revised charm. "That got something. It's a street a kilometer or so away from their home… I'm going there. I have to find them. You should go to the Ministry, find your father. Whatever hurt them has to have been big and it might need to be covered up after they're found."

 

Glancing at the darkened stone, George kept his private thoughts to himself as he stared at her. The thought of letting her go off anywhere alone right now, considering her health and the circumstances, made him quite concerned, but he also knew her well enough by this point to know that she would be going, no matter what. So, he simply nodded in agreement.

 

"You be careful, please?" He stood up and pulled her into a hug before releasing her and striding quickly to the fireplace. The sooner he could find his father and get help, the sooner he could be back to help his wife.

 

Alinora didn't notice George leaving. She had focused on the street corner where her charm had said Colin and Anna had been recently and Apparated there.

 

*********

 

The street was dark and empty when Alinora suddenly appeared. Looking around, she couldn't see anything that gave her a hint as to the where abouts of Colin and Anna, but from up ahead, just around the corner, she could hear the sounds of raised voices and the faint, distant sound of sirens. She began to run towards them.

 

The voices got louder, as did the sirens, and the street was no longer as dark. Alinora finally rounded the last corner and slid to a stunned halt, staring at the horrific scene before her.

 

A car, the one they had been using to get to and from dance class, was bent around a pole and burning, flames shooting high up into the air. A crowd of people surrounded it, at a safe distance, and firemen were working to make sure the fire didn't spread to anything close by.

 

Shaking her head in denial, Alinora slowly began walking forward, tears rolling down her cheeks and blurring her vision. Angrily, she brushed them away and walked faster. Surely this had to be a mistake? They were wizards, all but Dennis' wife, surely they had all been able to Apparate to safety before… her mind refused to go further with that thought. They had to be okay!

 

Her movement forward was abruptly stopped by a hand grabbing her arm. Startled, Alinora turned to face the person, a fireman, who had halted her progress.

 

"Miss, you need to stay back. We can't put the fire out and you could be burned if you get too close."

 

"You… you can't put it out? But you got them out first, right?!? They got out of the car okay, didn't they?" Alinora stared up at the man, desperately hoping for him to agree that the four had escaped unharmed and had simply been taken away for treatment.

 

He didn't say anything, just looked at her sadly, and shook his head.

 

With an anguished cry, Ali broke from his grasp and went running back the way she'd came. She had enough presence of mind to wait until she was out of sight of the gathered crowd before Apparating away. The only remaining coherent thought in her head was to make sure that the twins were safe.

 

Moments later, she was pounding on the door to the Creevey home, where she was very relieved to see a light shining through a gap in the curtains. Not long after, the door opened slightly and she could see Camilla, the twin's usual babysitter, peeking through. When she recognized who was outside, she opened the door wide.

 

"Alinora! What are you doing here at this time of the night? Are you okay…?" Camilla's voice trailed off as she finally noticed the expression on Ali's face. "Something's happened, hasn't it?"

 

Alinora pushed past her and walked into the house. "The twins, are they okay? I have to see them." She hurried down the hallway and into the nursery where she came to an abrupt halt. The twins were there, sleeping fitfully, but safe and alive.

 

Camilla had followed her down the hall and now advanced to grip Alinora by the arm. "What happened? Where are Colin and Anna?"

 

Alinora closed her eyes briefly before turning to face the other woman, keeping a firm grip on the closest crib, as if it would disappear if she let go of it. "There was an accident. The car… it burned…" she stopped and shook her head.

 

Tears welled up in Camilla's eyes and Ali quickly stepped forward and embraced her as the tears began to fall. They stood together for a while, until Camilla was able to stop crying.

 

Still sniffling slightly, and wiping her eyes, Camilla looked around the nursery. "You'll be wanting to take the twins with you, I suppose. I know you're to be their guardian now…" They both flinched at that; none of them had expected that agreement to ever go into effect.

 

"Yes, I think that would be best. I'll seal the house so it's not disturbed before the Ministry can take care of things."

 

The two began packing up the twins' belongings and transferring them to their carriers. Luckily, they were able to accomplish this without waking either of the two sleeping infants and soon everything had been transferred out to the living room fireplace.

 

Alinora hugged Camilla once again as she let her out the door. Ali swayed slightly as she stood in the doorway, waving goodbye, before closing the door and setting the locks and the house wards. Reentering the living room, she cast a quick charm to lighten the weight of the bags and allow her to actually transport everything at once. Then, picking up the bags and the babies she tossed some floo powder into the fireplace and was gone without a backwards glance.

 

*********

 

The hour was late and the fire in the Burrow's fireplace was beginning to burn low. Ron and Hermione had stopped by to talk with Molly earlier in the evening and they were now comfortably lazing about, trying to get up the energy to leave for home.

 

Suddenly, their attention was caught by the glow of the fire, which had changed to green. Moments later, a heavily burdened figure stumbled out of the fireplace and into the room. Molly leapt to her feet in surprise, which quickly turned to concern as they all realized who it was who had arrived.

 

Alinora stumbled a few feet further into the room before dropping the various bags to the floor around her feet. She carefully placed the baby carriers down among them and glanced around at the three people staring at her. She opened her mouth to explain the situation, but all of a sudden her vision began going black and she crumpled to the floor unconscious.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 13: Recovery_ **

*********

 

Alinora woke, confused by her surroundings. She couldn't remember what had been going on and certainly didn't remember going to bed.

 

As she struggled to remember, she looked around the room, finally placing it as George's old room in the Burrow where she'd gotten ready on her wedding day. The weight across her waist was recognized as George's arm from where he was sleeping peacefully beside her.

 

Studying the room again, still trying to remember what been going on, her eyes fell on two things that looked decidedly out of place among the mementos of Fred and George's childhood- two cribs.

 

That's when it all came back to her. Colin and Anna, her friends and family, were dead and probably Dennis and his wife as well.

 

The tears began to fall again and she rolled over on her side to bury her face in the pillow to muffle the sounds of her sobs, but the movement had already woken George.

 

Gently, he turned her to face him and held her to his chest. Her tears flowed faster now and she held on to him desperately. Distantly she was aware that he cried too and she tried to stop, not wanting them to wake the twins, but it was impossible to dam the flow now.

 

At last the tears slowed and Alinora pulled back slightly so she could wipe her eyes. George produced a handkerchief from somewhere so she was able to blow her nose.

 

"How did I get to the Burrow?" she finally asked, her voice rough.

 

George looked at her quizzically, "You don't remember?" She shook her head no. "The night… of the accident, you sent me to find help while you went to find Colin and Anna. From what we've pieced together, you made it to the accident site, and then went to their home to collect the twins. Camilla said you seemed coherent, but obviously upset. The two of you packed up some of their belongings and you came here. That was probably a better idea than going home, but you scared Mum half to death when you showed up. You appeared out of the fireplace, put Jeffrey and Ariel down and collapsed. None of them had any idea what had happened until Dad and I came looking for you."

 

"How long have I been asleep?!?"

 

"About 36 hours now, Katie's been in to check on you a number of times, since we didn't want to move you. Her diagnosis was that it was the shock and stress on top of you barely having recovered from being ill that caused you to pass out. We were to let you sleep as long as you needed it."

 

Ali looked at him in shock. "I've been asleep for well over a day?!? Wha… what's been going on? What have they found out about…" she stopped talking abruptly and gestured at him in frustration as her eyes again filled with tears.

 

"From what we can tell, it was just an accident. Something happened to the car and they didn't have time to react." George replied, his face pale.

 

"Were they all… in there? Dennis and Joanne too?" Ali asked quietly.

 

He only nodded.

 

"The Ministry is taking care of the Muggle side of things. Joanne's family has been notified and they're taking care of her and Dennis' funeral arrangements."

 

"Colin never wanted to have a funeral," Alinora said in a distant voice, remembering a conversation they'd had years earlier when the possibility of dying seemed so much more immediate. "He always said they were too depressing, that he didn't want to be remembered in that way. His friends were to remember him with laughter, not tears."

 

"That's what Ginny told us too. We're compromising and having a memorial service for the two of them, tonight possibly if you're up to it. We were waiting for you to recover."

 

"I'm recovered enough for that," she said determinedly, "I'll be there."

 

Carefully sliding her legs over the side of the bed, Alinora got shakily to her feet. She waited a moment or two to make sure her legs would hold, then carefully made her way over to where the cribs had been set up.

 

They were obviously ones that had been in the Weasley family for years, perhaps even holding the original twins at some point. The paint, once bright and cheerful, had worn away over the years and the decorative carvings were battered to the point that it was difficult to see what they'd once portrayed. The twins were sleeping within, covered snugly with brightly colored blankets made by Molly Weasley as a gift to the Creevey’s after the birth of their children.

 

Tears stung Alinora's eyes as she stared down at the sleeping infants. Colin and Anna had been so excited about becoming parents. They had been planning for so long for this and it was heartbreaking that it had been so tragically cut short. Ali couldn't help but worry that she and George wouldn't be able to do nearly as good a job raising them as their real parents would have.

 

"We'll do just fine," George said, coming up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a kiss on the top of her head before resting his chin there to join her in staring down into the cribs.

 

"How did you know that's what I was thinking?" she asked softly.

 

"Because I've been worrying about it too," he said simply. "It makes me nervous, being responsible for the lives of two tiny babies. I don't want to let Colin and Anna down any more than you do and I've certainly never been a father before."

 

He could hear Alinora snort and mutter something to the effect of, "I should certainly hope not!" and he grinned in response.

 

"Look, what we both have to keep in mind is that we're _not doing this alone_. We have our family and friends who are certainly going to be there to help out. Nobody expects us to be perfect, except maybe us, but we certainly aren't the first couple to become parents when we weren't ready for it."

 

At that, Alinora began laughing and quickly raised a hand to cover her mouth and muffle the noise. Turning in George's arms, she smiled up at him. "Not that I don't completely agree with everything you're saying, but please forgive me if I doubt just where you came up with these words of wisdom." Her eyes were still blue clouded with sadness, but the grin was as full of mischief as it normally was.

 

George grinned back at her unabashedly. "Well, Mum and Dad did sit me down yesterday, while you were asleep, and give me the exact same pep talk, but that doesn't make it any less true."

 

When Ali didn't reply, simply cocked her head at him and smiled in silence, George gently pulled her away from the cribs. "Come on. You'll feel better after you get cleaned up and I know the family will feel better once they see you up and around doing okay. We've all been really worried you know."

 

"I'm sorry to have caused more problems for everybody…"

 

"Not a problem, they're just worried because they care about you. Now if you want a chance to get a shower before it's time to feed these two, I suggest you go now."

 

With a nod, Ali gathered her stuff and quietly left the room.

 

As the door closed behind her, George sank to the bed with a sigh. That had gone better than he'd expected. Katie had been quite concerned at her relapse so soon after being so ill and it was a relief to see Ali up and acting somewhat normal. Not that they were surprised at Ali's reaction. She and Colin had been very close and his death had come at a time when they'd all thought they were safe and had only a long, peaceful life ahead of them. To have reality step in so abruptly and prove them all wrong had been painful for them all.

 

There was a soft sound of rustling from one of the cribs, but when he checked neither baby had woken, though Jeffrey was looking restless. They'd both be awake soon and ready to eat.

 

The thought of suddenly being a father had George a bit nervous. He and Alinora had talked about having children of their own, but, as they'd just gotten married, they hadn't planned on starting a family for at least another couple years. They'd talked about how great it was that Colin and Anna had had kids first, since now they could learn from them what they should or should not do. The best laid plans…

 

George sighed silently and returned to the bed. Absentmindedly, he made up the bed before flopping down upon the quilt to stare unseeingly up at the ceiling.

 

He came out of his trance when he heard the bedroom door open and he watched Alinora reenter the room. She was snuggly wrapped in her green, terrycloth robe and had a towel wrapped around her hair and piled up on top of her head.

 

She crossed the room silently and sat down at one of the two desks, removed the towel from her head and began to dry her hair with it.

 

George had always prided himself on being observant- what good practical joker could afford not to be?- but it would've taken someone who was blind not to notice that, while in the shower, Ali had lost close to two feet off the length of her hair.

 

As he started to chuckle, Ali finally looked up and caught his eye. She smiled rather sheepishly at him and he was relieved to see that her eyes were now more green than blue. Things were improving.

 

"New hairstyle, luv?"

 

"I felt the need to exert some control upon my life," she replied in a slightly haughty tone of voice. It would've been more effective had it not been for the mischievous look on her face. "It was either do something drastic to my hair or go shopping, and, as there's a distinctive lack of shops in the Weasley loo, I went with chopping the hair."

 

"I've noticed the lack of shops myself," George said gravely, doing a commendable job of keeping a straight face. "We will have to speak to Mum and Dad about that straight away as you can't afford to lose much more hair."

 

They both laughed and, if the laughter was slightly hysterical in relief, neither bothered to mention it. Both were just happy to feel like laughing right now.

 

"You better go get ready, George," Ali said, rising from her chair to pull him off the bed where he'd been lounging. "They heard me moving about and they'll expect us down soon. I'll finish getting dressed…" She paused as one of the twins, disturbed by their noise, woke up and began to cry. "I'll finish getting ready and see about getting these guys fed," she finished, hurriedly searching for clothes among the bags George had packed for them.

 

As he hastily made his way out of the room, Alinora had already begun throwing on jeans and a jumper and was murmuring soothingly to the twins, both of whom were now crying. He quickly closed the door behind him and could hear his mum making her way up the stairs to give Ali a hand.

 

 _"Thank Merlin I have Alinora,"_ he thought, enjoying the silence of the bathroom, _"I can't imagine being able to handle all this on my own, family or not. I don't know what I'd do without her…"_

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 14: A Letter Home_ **

*********

 

November 25th

 

'Ello Mom-

 

This has been one of the hardest, strangest periods of time in my life! Even after Father was murdered and I went to live at Hogwarts, I didn't feel this overwhelmed. I still often find it hard to believe that Colin and Anna are gone, but the thought doesn't reduce me to tears as much anymore.

 

I am humbled and scared by the fact that I am helping raise their children. If it weren't for George, I don't think I'd be able to do it, to be honest. I can tell he worries about it too, though we don't discuss it all that often. I can see that look in his eyes that says he's as unsure about things as I am. I wouldn't even notice it except he's so rarely at a loss. It prompts me to rise to the occasion and find a way to fix whatever's causing it. But he does the same for me when I feel overwhelmed. I can see him reach inside to find a solution. Is there any wonder that I love him so much? We make a good pair.

 

Not that raising the twins is such a horrible thing, don't get me wrong! It's wonderful watching them grow and see new things in the world around them. George has made them mobiles for over their cribs and you can see their eyes light up when they notice one of the colorful objects floating above their head. They'll smile and gurgle happily while batting at it in their slightly limited ability. And the first time they look at you and _know_ who you are… Oh, Mom, it was the most amazing thing! Almost as memorable as that first morning when I met George.

 

I could do without the diaper changing though. I can only convince George to do it for so long before he swears that it's _good for me_ and that he doesn't want to deprive me of something so beneficial. Men!

 

Molly and the rest of the extended clan have been very helpful through these first couple of weeks. We moved back to our flat a couple days after the memorial service, but everyone has tried really hard to do what they can for us, while also not being around too much. It's a fine line to tread, but so far it's been working. I've been at home with them most of the time, since George has to be in at the office or at one of their stores, but anytime I feel like I just can't handle it anymore, someone will come take over or at least come keep me company.

 

Katie and I took the twins into Hogsmeade a couple days ago. I'd forgotten it was a 'Hogsmeade Weekend' for the school, and we ran into quite a few students I knew from working in the store as well as a couple of the professors. It was a bit awkward for us all, but we survived. Ran into Sara there too. She was fuming as she was supposed to be meeting Snape, and he was running late. I think he was just trying to avoid being seen in public with a woman. Hehehehehehe! Unfortunately, he didn't show up until right before Katie and I had to leave, so he was saved from being ganged up on by three women. Sara told me she'd be coming by sometime in the next week to 'free me from my maternal obligations for an afternoon'. I can't wait. I hope we go dancing!

 

Ginny, Katie and I have been working in some practice time for our upcoming performance at Hogwarts' Yule Ball. They did ask if I felt up to it and I asked them if they did. We all decided that it was something we had to do and that we still wanted to do it. It's a bit different coming up with a plan of action when you're performing for a dance and not a concert. At a dance, we're not supposed to be the center of attention whereas, at the concert, the more outrageous you are, the better they tend to like it. Despite it, I think the program is coming along fine. Only a couple of weeks…

 

I'm trying to stay positive and not make this letter depressing, but…

 

I feel guilty. If George and I had been with them that night, in the car, would they still have died? Neither Colin or Anna were incredibly strong magically, while George and I have had many opportunities over the years to hone our skills until we're both generally prepared for anything- within reason, of course! With our reactions, maybe we could've Apparated everyone out of the car so no one was hurt. Argh! This does me no good to dwell on, so don't get worried that I'm going to make myself sick over this. It's just that whole 'what if' thing… What if we'd all gone dancing like normal, would the car still have had problems? Would our being there have made a difference, or would we have simply died too? I could drive myself crazy with these thoughts, so I'll stop. Yep, I'll stop right now…

 

Anyway, I've been working on some new material for the group that everyone seems to like. Maybe we'll try some of the songs out at Hogwarts next month. I'll see about sending copies of a few of them with this letter so you can give me your opinion as well. I'd invite you to come visit, so you can listen in person, but I know how much you hate the weather this time of year. Though if you ever feel like coming, just let me know as you're always welcome here.

 

I'm seriously behind on my Christmas preparations. George has offered to do the shopping this year, which makes me rather nervous considering we can't afford to have his family angry with us, but I may get him to help just the same. Maybe he can find gifts for the men as they're less likely to blame me for whatever he comes up with. Not that I don't have a few entertaining ideas of my own… I think maybe we'll have to consult, compare ideas and go from there. No matter what, I need to get going on that. Next time I go into town, I'll get started. I saw the most wonderful set of _The Complete Works of Gilderoy Lockhart_ , bound in dragon leather, which I know Molly would love to have to replace the set she currently has. I, of course, would also add a charm to control all those disparaging comments she gets when referring to them. Not that I don't agree that he's a massive buffoon, but if she likes reading them who am I, or anyone else, to ruin her enjoyment?

 

I feel like I'm trying too hard to sound normal. That it sounds forced. If that's the case, please ignore it and I promise to do better in my next letter. If I sound the same as I normally do, well then, just ignore this entire paragraph!

 

Well, I can hear Arial starting to get fussy, so I'd better close this out. Sorry it was so short and leaning towards the depressing end of the scale. As I said earlier, my next letter will be better! George and the rest of the family send their love, as do I.

 

Love,

Alinora

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 15: The Yule Ball_ **

*********

 

"Burr! I'm glad we don't have much further to go to get to the school! Whose bright idea was it to _walk_ from the gates?!?" Katie asked, her breath making clouds of smoke in the frosty air.

 

"Well, if you'd do your warming charm up correctly, the cold wouldn't bother you, now would it?" Ginny responded tartly as she and Alinora stopped and turned to look at their friend. Pulling out her wand, Ginny quickly cast a warming charm on Katie's coat, hat and gloves. She smiled at Katie's sigh of relief as the warmth flowed through her chilled body.

 

"Aren't you supposed to be the Healer here?" Alinora teased gently as they resumed their walk towards the main doors to Hogwarts. "You, of all people, should know to dress warmly."

 

"I thought I was! And you two are the ones always calling me a Healer; I've never aspired to that title."

 

"You should, you know; you definitely have the talent for it." Alinora said seriously as they finally made it to the doors. "No matter, I'll convince you of it yet! To make you feel better though, let's see if Dumbledore will let us use his fireplace to floo back to my place once we're done. Deal?"

 

"Deal." Katie said with a grin, pulling open the front door.

 

As they prepared to enter, a coach pulled up and stopped in front of the school. The three glanced as each other, curious as to who was visiting the school tonight, then shrugged and entered the warmth of the Entrance Hall. As Ali passed her, Katie muttered, "See, _other_ people know that it's too cold to be walking…"

 

Ali simply grinned and pulled her inside, shutting the heavy doors behind them.

 

Ginny had already taken off her coat by the time they joined her and she was gazing around the heavily decorated hall in obvious enjoyment.

 

They were there well before the beginning of the ball, as Dumbledore had invited them to join him at the feast as well. He had warned them to come early to avoid the rush of students meeting their dates in the Entrance Hall and had said he'd meet them here an hour before the feast was to begin so they would have time to visit before the evening's festivities. Obviously they had arrived even earlier than expected, since there was no sign of Dumbledore.

 

They quietly examined their surroundings, smiling slightly at the faint sounds of Christmas carols coming from somewhere in the castle. The resident ghosts, contrary to what one might think, were abnormally fond of the holiday period and likely to burst into song at any moment.

 

Hearing footsteps from behind them, they turned and saw two figures emerging from one of the dungeon corridors. Snape's figure was immediately recognizable, but it took the three a moment to figure out who the gentleman with him was.

 

"Draco…" breathed Ginny quietly.

 

As the two men walked towards them, their conversation ended. Neither seemed overjoyed to see them, and they would've been surprised if they had, but they also didn't appear annoyed.

 

Alinora stepped forward as they got near and, smiling, said, "Professor Snape, how nice to see you. And Draco, it's been years. How are you? The papers say you've been keeping occupied working on some intense magical research."

 

"The papers have been known to exaggerate," he commented with a slight smirk, "but in this case they're only slightly exaggerating. I have been working on a personal project for a while now and have finally begun to see results. But I'm sure that's of no interest to the three of you. I hear that congratulations are in order. The three of you have recently gotten married." he stated coolly.

 

"Thank you. Yes," Katie replied, "We had a joint ceremony in October."

 

Draco merely smiled at the three before turning slightly to look at Snape. "I hate to cut this short, but I have another engagement this evening and I must be leaving." Turning back to face Alinora, Katie and Ginny, he bowed slightly, "Ladies, it's been a pleasure. Have a nice evening." Swirling his cloak around his shoulders, he swiftly left the room, heading for the carriage outside.

 

" _That_ was a bit sudden," Ginny mumbled under her breath, "It was nice to see you too." Ali elbowed her.

 

"Ladies, I'm sorry I was delayed." Dumbledore's voice floated down to them as he descended the staircase behind them. "It was nice of you keep them company, Severus."

 

"Yes, well, I must get back to my office now. I have a number of details to take care of before…" and look of resigned distaste swept across his face, "the feast and the ball." Bowing briefly, he swept back the way he'd come and descended the stairs to the dungeons.

 

"Severus is always the life of the party in events such as this." Dumbledore commented slyly, his eyes twinkling merrily. "Now, why don't we go up to my office for a bit as it's about to get quite crowded down here.

 

Seeing their nods of agreement, he turned and led them back up the stairs.

 

*********

 

Later that evening, the three sat comfortably with the various Hogwarts teachers, looking out over the gathering of students. The feast was almost over and it had been just as wonderful as they had remembered them being. As their work was to begin soon, they excused themselves to disappear out a side door to ready themselves for the evening's performance.

 

"Nervous about being back?" Ali asked them.

 

"Nervous? No, not really. Though I'll admit I never would've guessed I'd be back in this capacity." Ginny said with a grin. "For the longest time I imagined coming back as a Professor though." She grinned broadly at her friends and twirled around, showing off her sparkly gold dress. "Don't I just look like the spitting image of a serious, dedicated Professor?!?"

 

"I think the students would love having you," Katie grinned, "Maybe they can convince Professor Binns to 'retire' finally and you could spice up History of Magic…"

 

"They can only hope." Alinora sighed in remembered exasperation. "Anyway, I think we should be getting back. Surely they're done setting up by now and we can begin."

 

They did one final check in the mirror, responding politely to the compliments it gave them, before returning to the Great Hall to stand in a shadowy corner and observe the goings on.

 

Dumbledore was in the process of transforming the feast area into a ball room with the help of the other Professors. The students were milling around in a half nervous, half self-conscious way waiting for the music to start.

 

Alinora was humming softly to herself, going over in her head the arrangements for the evening. As usual, she wasn't paying much attention to what she was humming, with one tune leading into another before twisting into something completely different. It wasn't until she heard Ginny singing along that she realized that the current tune was that of a version of the school song they'd put together years earlier in response to a dare from the twins.

 

The school song had always been a bit of a free for all. It was sung however the singer felt like singing it, which lead to some interesting variations. A group of them had gotten into a bit of an argument about whether it was possible to have a set version of the song that wouldn't become rote or boring. Fred and George had challenged the three to come up with something to show that it was possible. Their answer had been to incorporate three different styles of music, one per voice, and combine them into something that never sounded like it would work when you were simply told about it, but that sounded quite nice when actually heard.

 

By now, Katie had joined in with her part of the song and, at the beginning of the next section; Ali stopped humming and added her part in as well. Some of the students were beginning to notice the singing and they began quieting down to hear what was going on. By the time they'd finished their second repetition of the song, the room was almost completely silent and Dumbledore was smiling broadly. As they brought the song to a close, he began to clap enthusiastically and waved them forward towards the newly set up stage.

 

"Wonderful, Ladies!" he cried, lightly embracing each as they joined him on stage. Turning, he faced the curious eyes of the gathered students. "By this time, I assume that you are all quite aware whom we have performing tonight. Hogwarts has had many outstanding alumni over the years and none more so in their own right than these three talented witches you see standing before you who make up the musical group known as _The Sirens_. I hope you all enjoy hearing their performance tonight as much as I know they'll enjoy performing for you."

 

Katie shook her head, chuckling, before turning to pick up her instrument and pass Ginny hers. Alinora moved behind her drum set and, checking to see they were all ready, started the first song of the ball.

 

*********

 

The ball was half over now. The new material they'd tried out had gone over well and the cover songs they'd done had also been well received. It was hard to say who was having more fun, the band or the students.

 

Alinora unconsciously scanned the crowd as they performed. It was a habit she'd picked up during their early years when they were just beginning to work with the Order under Moody's guidance. It was second nature by now to keep an eye on what was going on around her and judge the audience's mood. It was also second nature to react to what was going on with the audience. So, when she sensed a fight about to break out among a couple of the students, she didn't think twice before uttering a few quick words in the direction of the imminent altercation. She was happy to see looks of startled surprise flash across the faces of those involved before they turned sheepishly away to resume their previous activities.

 

Ali quickly forgot about the incident and concentrated on the performance.

 

*********

 

"Might I have a word?"

 

Alinora turned at the grip on her arm and looked curiously up into Snape's shadowed eyes.

 

"Of course. Give me just a minute…" Ali turned back to finish securing the last of her drums, shrinking it down into a more manageable size before placing it carefully in her pack. "Okay," she said, turning again to look at him, "what's up?"

 

"What were you doing tonight during the show?" At her look of confusion, he elaborated, "What did you do to those two students during the dance? I could tell you must have cast something, but I didn't recognize the spell."

 

"Oh, it was a reflection charm." Ali said with a smile, though she was a bit confused as to why he was asking. Snape gestured for her to expand a bit on her answer and, with a bit of a sigh, she complied.

 

"A reflection charm, you know, it reflects actions or motivations back on the person it's cast on. It just helps you see what you're doing and understand why."

 

As she explained, Snape's eyes had gone wide and his expression had paled even further than its normal sallow complexion. "You cast one of the _Mirror Spells_?!?" he finally asked incredulously. "I thought those spells had been mostly forgotten by the wizarding world. They're only slightly less dangerous than the Unforgivables. They're certainly not taught in any school that I've ever heard of, including Durmstrang and they specialize in Dark Magic."

 

Alinora gave him a disbelieving look before chuckling slightly. "And whoever said that I had had a _normal_ education? Besides," she continued, in a more serious tone of voice, "while the Mirror spells can be… a bit dangerous, they're not evil and they certainly don't fall under the category of Dark Arts."

 

Snape snorted in disbelief, but otherwise remained silent.

 

"No, really. Spells aren't by nature either good or evil. Any spell can be put to an evil purpose if that's what the caster wants. The Mirror Spells, as you call them, _are_ dangerous, but the truth always is and that's what they deal with. Seeing things as they truly are. No more shades of grey, just brutally depicted black and white. That's why these spells can be dangerous, not many people are brave enough to face the truth and accept what they see.

 

"The charm I cast tonight was minor, to say the least. I doubt either of the two involved even realizes that's what happened. In fact, if either of them had thought that they had a true, legitimate reason to fight, the charm wouldn't have had any effect. I can only assume that they didn't have one since they let the matter drop."

 

"How did you learn about these spells anyway? Your father?"

 

"Hardly." Alinora snorted. "I don't think my father was always a big fan of truth." she said with a twisted smile. "Unca Gerry was always looking for obscure magical information and we'd discussed these spells when I was little. They fascinated both of us, but, as you said, they've been mostly forgotten. A couple years back though, Gerry was able to track down an old book that explained what the various spells did and how to cast them. We practiced a number of them, until we understood how they worked, but there are some we left alone. Some of them are just as dangerous for the caster as for those the spell is cast upon," she concluded slowly, with a distant look in her eyes.

 

"I'm glad to hear you have at least a bit of sense left." Snape sneered, looking about back to normal.

 

Ali simply grinned in response and reached up to pat him lightly on the side of the face. "Yes, well, we can't all be as perfect as you, now can we?" At his scowl, she simply laughed, and turned to pick up the pack containing her share of the band's gear. "I'll see you later, Professor. Coming for New Year's?" She glanced over her shoulder to see his reaction, but his expression had simply gone blank. She shrugged before looking around to see where Katie and Ginny had gotten to.

 

As she walked away, he made one final comment. "Ali… take care of yourself."

 

"I always do," she replied softly to herself, "and I don't plan to stop anytime soon."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 16: The Holidays_ **

*********

 

Snape's parting comment at the Yule Ball had stuck with Ali over the few days before the holiday. She and George had talked it over endlessly, though neither could figure out why she would need to be careful. This also hadn't been the first time Snape had warned her that she might be in danger from someone or something. He'd also made comments at their wedding, though in the pleasure of leaving for their honeymoon, Ali had quickly forgotten his words.

 

Despite their best efforts, neither could figure out who would want to cause Ali harm, so, after sending Artemis with a letter to Dumbledore explaining Snape's warnings, they decided to put it from their minds and simply enjoy the holidays.

 

*********

 

As much as possible, the Weasleys and their extended family always tried to spend Christmas together. Now that many of the children were married, not all could be there for the entire holiday period, but as many as possible would be there for Christmas evening when they had their main celebration.

 

Christmas Eve found the Weasley home filled with the happy sounds of a large family. Alinora, George and the twins had arrived for dinner. Harry and Ginny arrived not long after to join the festivities. Charlie and his girlfriend, Julia, arrived later that evening, in time to join the rest of the family in a game of Exploding Snap.

 

As neither Ali nor Julia was all that fond of things blowing up in their faces, they chose to watch the festivities from the sidelines. They spent the time talking quietly to each other, while throwing out random comments to stir things up in the other conversation. When the others finally, laughingly, told them to either join the game or leave them alone, both opted to turn in for the evening.

 

Ali was fast asleep when George finally joined her, but woke up long enough to help him put into place a few, important Christmas details. Tradition takes precedence over sleep any day!

 

*********

 

Christmas morning was dawning bright and sunny, causing the recent snow to sparkle in the light of the rising sun. The house was silent, but as the sun rose, sounds could begin to be heard in the various bedrooms of the Burrow. Softly at first, the sound of singing was heard, waking one of the inhabitants after the other, until the only ones still sleeping were those making up George and Ali's small family.

 

There was even sleepier grumbling when those awake made their way downstairs to find the Christmas tree singing merrily and a barrier blocking their access to the gifts gathered beneath it.

 

When Ali and George surfaced not long after, they found Ginny, glaring, waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs.

 

"I thought you were supposed to be a good influence on him, not help him with his mad schemes!"

 

"Humm…," Ali said, pausing to give Ginny a one armed hug as she passed her on the way to the kitchen, "I think there must have been something in that whole wedding thing that said that I'd agreed to support my husband in his every endeavor."

 

"Now, Ginny, what makes you think Alinora had anything to do with this morning? The twins have been pulling pranks like this for years." Molly asked, moving to remove Jeffrey from George's arms after being deflected from acquiring Ariel from Ali.

 

"Because Ali's the only one here good enough to pull that stunt and have it work despite the wards that you know we all put up for that very reason." Ginny explained, shaking her head in exasperation. She was still trying to glare at her brother and sister-in-law, but it was obvious that she wasn't really angry.

 

"Besides," chimed in Charlie, who had joined them in the living room, "if it had been left up to George, we would've woken to the sounds of screech owls or something really horrible. This year was actually an improvement, if you think about it."

 

Alinora merely smiled as she entered the kitchen, followed by Molly, to feed the now squirming twins their breakfast.

 

George moved to join them, but couldn't resist one last comment on the subject as he passed his sister. "You know, had you only trusted that I wouldn't do anything, you would've been fine," he whispered to her in passing. "As you said, you all put up wards to protect yourself from whatever traditional Christmas revelry would occur, but had you only believed in my innate goodness…" he sighed dramatically and Ginny hit him. "Trust is such an important thing for families to have and the lack of can be… quite noisy." He grinned, tapped her lightly on the nose and quickly left to join the others in the kitchen.

 

*********

 

By the end of lunch, the rest of the extended family had arrived, though Percy and his wife left early citing other familial obligations. The rest had formed a loud, boisterous crowd in the living room until it had become a bit much for the ladies to deal with.

 

Molly, the very pregnant Angelina and Fleur had escaped to the kitchen taking Bella and the twins with them. Ginny, Katie, Alinora, Julia and Hermione decided that a walk would be their escape of choice and, after pulling on winter coats to protect them from the heavy snow outside, they headed off.

 

"Oh, this is much better! If I had to listen to them dissect the chances of the Chudley Cannons actually making it to the Quidditch World Cup for one more minute…" Hermione ran her gloved fingers through her hair in frustration. "I may love Ron dearly, but he's a mite bit fixated."

 

The others chuckled in sympathy.

 

Ginny reached out and took her friend's arm. "Well, it's not like you weren't aware of it going into the relationship, though if you weren't, his wanting to decorate your living room in orange probably would've clued you in."

 

Julia, sensing perhaps that a change in topic would be good, asked for clarification on a story Charlie had told her earlier and the conversation soon turned to past events.

 

They'd walked for a good distance by now and were surrounded by tall trees, branches coated in a heavy layer of snow. Hermione and Ginny were giggling together over some comment Ginny had made while Katie had run a bit ahead, laughing, to escape Ali, who was mock threatening her over something she'd said.

 

Above the sounds of their laughter, they heard a loud "Snap". Katie, being a bit ahead of the others at this point turned around and looked up in time to see a large limb break from the tree above them and begin to fall towards the other four.

 

"Scatter!" she screamed at them, helpless to do anything else in the time they had.

 

From years of working together, Alinora and Ginny reacted quickly at her warning. Each glanced swiftly upwards before shoving the girl beside them as hard as possible away from the falling branch. Unfortunately, they didn't quite have enough time to get themselves out of reach as they were both hit glancing blows as the branch reached them.

 

Hermione and Julia struggled out of the snow where they'd fallen after being shoved, and joined Katie in hurrying back to check on the others. Alinora seemed okay, though she had obviously taken a light blow to the head, judging by the small trickle of blood running down her cheek.

 

Katie, seeing that Alinora was at least awake and moving, left her to Julia as she joined Hermione in removing the lower end of the limb from off of Ginny.

 

"Ow…" she moaned softly, as the branch was removed. Once the weight was lifted, she lowered the arm she'd raised to protect her head and cradled it to her chest, face contorted in pain.

 

"That doesn't look good, Gin. Is it broken?" Katie asked, crouching down to take a better look. "Yep, definitely broken. Well, not to worry, I can fix that up in a jiffy." Katie reached under her coat and pulled out her wand. Concentrating, she cast a charm to fix the break then watched as Ginny moved it experimentally. "Better?"

 

"Much." Ginny replied in a relieved tone of voice. She made a move to get up, but waited as Katie rose and held out a hand to pull her to her feet.

 

By this time, Julia had helped Ali move away from the tree limb, where Ali had collapsed back down in the snow. Her head appeared to have stopped bleeding, but it was also apparent that she had some additional scratching along the side of her head.

 

"Are you all right?" Katie asked in concern, finally noticing Ali stretched out in the snow. "That's probably not the best idea… you could get quite sick by doing that."

 

"Possibly, but it's the closest thing I could think of to putting ice on my shoulder." Ali groaned, struggling back into a seated position. Her left arm was held at an odd angle and she kept running her hand over her shoulder.

 

"I think we should get back to the house for this one. I should take a better look at your shoulder and that won't work out here. And you both should get into the warmth. Let me take a quick look though to make sure there are not any other problems I need to know about before we move you." Katie cast another quick charm and observed the results. She looked rather startled at something she saw, but quickly controlled her expression

 

"Well, you certainly have a rather nasty bruise forming on your shoulder, as you are quite aware, and some scratches on the face, but otherwise you don't seem to have been hurt by the fall." She reached out to help Ali to her feet. "I need to talk to you later, when we have a bit more privacy," she whispered. In a louder voice she called to the others, "Everyone ready to go?" The others agreed and they were soon back in the warmth of the kitchen.

 

"What happened?!?" Molly asked in shock at their sudden reappearance. The two injured folks were pushed into chairs and Katie helped Ali remove her jacket and outer jumper so she could take a better look at her shoulder.

 

Molly's voice had attracted the attention of the men in the other room, who now crowded around the entrance to the kitchen attempting to see what was going on. George pushed his way through once he saw that Ali had been hurt, followed by Harry, who rushed to Ginny's side.

 

George took the hand that Alinora held out to him before kneeling down beside her. "Is she okay?" he asked Katie, who was still busy examining the wound.

 

"It looks like it's just a really bad bruise. Nothing broken, pulled, strained, that sort of thing. I'm sure Molly has something on hand that will help it feel better." She glanced up at Molly, who nodded and turned to find the appropriate potion.

 

"You know, I'm getting really tired of things falling on my head." Alinora complained. "Do I have some invisible tattoo that says 'Hit me'?"

 

George and Katie chuckled. "The only tattoo I'm aware of is your rose and, as I'm the one who put it there, I know it doesn't say that. So, what happened?"

 

"We had a tree limb fall on us as we were taking our walk. Ginny and I were able to push 'Mione and Julia out of the way, but weren't so lucky ourselves."

 

"Is she okay?" George asked in concern, turning to glance at his sister.

 

"She had a broken arm, but it should be fine now. That is one spell I'm quite familiar with. She'll have to take it easy for a day or so, but there shouldn't be any lasting damage."

 

Molly had returned with the necessary potion and, handing it to Ali, turned to go check on her daughter. Ali sniffed the glass, crinkled up her nose at the smell then hurriedly gulped it down. She grimaced at the taste. "That stuff is horrible! I think I might have preferred the bruise." Twisting her head, she and the others watched as the vivid purples, blues and greens faded from her skin leaving it only slightly discolored. "Does feel better though, I have to admit." she said, tentatively rotating her arm.

 

Katie stood up and took a look at the head wound that had since stopped bleeding. "Just a flesh wound," she teased, "You'll get better. But it wouldn't hurt to get it washed up and maybe cover over some of the worst of those cuts. They're not serious enough to need healing, but why take chances? You've had enough bad luck recently with getting almost hurt." Katie smiled and turned away, not noticing the startled looks George and Alinora were giving each other.

 

"Come on," George said finally, let's get you upstairs to the bathroom. It's too crowded in here to get anything done." He helped her to her feet and the two made their way through the crowd of people who'd now managed to squeeze themselves into the kitchen.

 

"She's right, you know," George finally said, when they reached the safety of their room and he had settled Alinora on the bed. "I hadn't placed it, but you have had some interesting near misses over the past couple months. Even on our wedding day you almost fell into traffic."

 

"But those were all accidents, right?" Alinora asked in surprise, "People stumble all the time! It doesn't mean anything!"

 

"It might not, but there have been a number of things…" George began ticking them off on his fingers, "The stumble in London that could've put you under a car, we got chased by a shark on our honeymoon. Yes," he said, holding up a hand to stop her refuting of that one, "I know you said that was me being overly sensitive, but let me continue. There was the illness you had, or food poisoning, after we returned. You were really sick from that! Ummm, let me see… That might be it until today.

 

"You know, I wonder if the attack on you guys your first night back is related? Since we don't know why anyone would be after you, why couldn't that be connected?"

 

"This is really beginning to bother me, George." Ali looked up at him, fear beginning to show in her expression. They sat in silence for a while, each considering the evidence presented. Suddenly, Alinora gasped and reached out to grab George's hand in a strong grip. "You don't think… could the car accident have been… you know, normally we, I, would've been in that car that night! Could that have been another 'accident'?!?"

 

They looked at each other in horror as the possibility sunk in. Ali gave a sob and buried her face in her hands and began to cry. George began pacing the room furiously for a few minutes before returning to the bed. Sitting down beside her, he hugged Ali to him and she turned to bury her face in his shoulder.

 

"It's not fair! If someone's out to get me, why are they hurting everybody else too?!? Any one of those things could, or did, affect people other than me. And we don't even know why it's happening! What have I done?!?"

 

"I don't know. I wish I did because I hate feeling this helpless! We sent the letter to Dumbledore. I'm sure with his, and the others' help, we'll figure out what's going on. Let's not mention it to the family today though. Let them enjoy the rest of their holiday."

 

Ali nodded in agreement. She made a quick trip to the bathroom to wash her face and clean the scratches. Returning to the bedroom, George helped her cover over the cuts and the two were about ready to rejoin the rest of the family, when there was a knock on the door. At their permission to enter, the door opened and Katie entered, closing the door behind her.

 

"I have something that I wanted to tell you guys, and I figured this would be the easiest time to catch you alone." George and Ali waved her to a chair while they sat back down on the bed facing her and waited for her to speak. "Remember that spell I cast outside to see how you were doing, Ali? That particular spell doesn't just check for problems, it gives the caster a general overview of what's going on in the body. I saw something that I thought you two might want to know about."

 

She stopped for a moment, looking slightly nervous, and then continued. "Ali, I… well, I'm not sure how to say this… Oh, good grief! Ali, you're pregnant. Not very far along, but definitely expecting. Congratulations." She finished sheepishly, looking with some amusement at the utterly blank expressions on their faces.

 

Ali and George looked at each other in shock, trying to take in the news. While happy about it, with everything else going on, it seemed almost too much to handle. They had an unknown person supposedly out to get Ali, the two children of their good friends' to raise and now they would soon be having a child of their own…

 

"Well, that's a bit unexpected." Ali finally said, her hand going down protectively to cover her still flat stomach. "Please tell me we're not having twins," she said a bit desperately, looking back at Katie.

 

"Too soon to tell, dear. I told you, you're not more than a couple weeks along. I'm surprised I could tell at all. Anyway, I thought you should know. I'll leave it up to you two to decide when and what to tell the others." With that, she got up and left the room, leaving them to further consider this latest surprise.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 17: A New Year_ **

*********

 

"I think I'm about to go rather noisily insane!"

 

Alinora's hands were clenched firmly in her long hair and her eyes were a bit wild as she looked around the living room. Everywhere she looked were piles of stuff: projects George was working on for work, toys for the twins, laundry in various stages of doneness, as well as, she was not ashamed to admit, a number of her instruments. Normally she was able to keep up with things, and George was generally happy to help, but somehow over the past couple weeks things had gotten out of hand.

 

It didn't help that, in the weeks since Katie had sprung the pregnancy news on them, Alinora had begun experiencing the morning sickness thing. She wasn't really even sure if she should be having morning sickness at this stage, but since they had yet to mention the news to anyone else, she also didn't have anyone to ask.

 

George also had a number of new projects going on at work. He and Fred had negotiated a wonderful new deal with a muggle distributor, but in order for it to go through; they had to figure out how to make their magical items non-magical. Or at least not obviously magical. Because of that, he'd been spending long hours working on some bugs that kept arising. She was happy he was at least able to work at home, so they were able to spend some time together, but she was getting a bit irritated at constantly stepping on the unsuccessful results of his work. It often caused unfavorable reactions, as shown by the black stain currently covering a corner of the far wall. Yet another thing that needed to be taken care of.

 

She sighed.

 

From the babies' room she could hear the muffled sounds of crying and the deeper murmur of George's voice. Both Jeffrey and Ariel had managed to come down with slight colds. Nothing too serious, according to their doctor, but enough so that they weren't sleeping well, which meant that neither were she nor George. This probably wasn't helping her mood either. Her nerves were pretty shot, with everything going on recently, and her mood was touchy at best. So far she'd managed to not take her bad mood out on the family, but if she didn't find a way to defuse the situation, it was only a matter of time.

 

Half-heartedly, Ali began working on the laundry. Generally, the task of folding laundry could be rather soothing, but it wasn't working this time. Throwing down the towel she'd been folding, Ali spun around and walked over to the mark on the wall. Surely she could at least take care of this and _something_ would be finished!

 

Pulling out her wand, Ali considered the stain. Perhaps some form of bleaching spell would work… Okay, maybe one that erases things? No, not quite the thing either. Frustration, always so close to the surface these days, was bubbling up again. Trying to lift whatever caused the stain off the wall didn't work, nor did the rather far-fetched idea of making the stain invisible. Finally, after trying to change the stain's color to match that of the rest of the wall, only to have it turn fluorescent pink, Ali collapsed to the floor, buried her face in her hands and began weeping.

 

"Oh, what's the use?" she moaned, "I can't get anything right these days!"

 

"That's not true, luv! What's the matter?"

 

She hadn't heard George reenter the room. He sat down behind her on the floor and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back towards him until her head was nestled on his chest.

 

"I'm useless," she said wearily. "I can't seem to get the energy to do anything and I'm so frustrated! I don't know what's wrong with me. Everything's irritating me, but nothing specifically is wrong that I can point to as the reason." Another couple tears rolled down her cheeks. "And I can't get that bloody awful stain off the wall!"

 

They both sat there in silence for a moment, then softly they both began to chuckle. Soon, they were both laughing in earnest, as the strain of the past couple days was released.

 

After a while, their laugher began to slow as they slowly brought it under control. Ali leaned back into George's arms and let herself relax.

 

"Okay, I definitely needed that!" she said with a wry chuckle.

 

"You and me both," George agreed, "but I think you need a bit more. You need to get away for a while."

 

Alinora twisted around to look at him quizzically. "Get away? Why?"

 

"Come on, you've spent the past how many years traveling constantly and over the past four to five months you've barely left the house, let alone Hogsmeade. I think you feel you have to be here and, because of that, you're not taking any time for yourself."

 

"But I love being here!" she protested, "It's wonderful to actually get to see you all the time and do, I don't know, 'normal' things for a change."

 

"Yes, but even 'normal' people get out a bit more than you have recently." he teased, hugging her gently. He was about to continue, when a voice issued from the area of the fireplace.

 

"Knock, knock. Anyone home?" called out a familiar female voice.

 

"Nope," George called out cheerfully, "we're not home!"

 

"Look, you red-headed mischief maker, I want to talk to your wife! You've had her long enough…" George and Alinora could hear the humor in the speaker's voice and Ali turned to stick her tongue out at her husband before struggling to her feet.

 

"And she's calling _me_ a mischief maker?!?" he grumbled under his breath.

 

"Coming, Sara, dear!" she called out, walking to the fireplace. With a word, the charm blocking the unexpected entrance of visitors to their living room was gone and Sara's head appeared within the confines of the fireplace.

 

"Much better!" Sara's disembodied head glanced around the room until she caught sight of Ali. "There you are, haven't seen you in ages. What are you, trying to become some sort of hermit, or something?"

 

"Or something," Ali replied, glancing back at George, who had also now gotten to his feet. "Might as well come on through," she continued, making another gesture that would allow Sara to floo to their home. A minute later, Sara stood in the living room, vainly attempting to brush some stubborn soot from her black pantsuit.

 

"I'm kidnapping you," Sara finally said, giving up on the soot, "you haven't been out in ages, I want to go out and if I have to spend one more evening avoiding students at Hogwarts to preserve the precious reputation of their bloody Potions Master, I think I'll scream!" Her eyes flashed angrily, but then softened into a smile. "I need a girl's night in the worst way, and I think you do too."

 

"Yes, she does," broke in George, joining them and putting an arm around Ali's shoulders. She rolled her eyes, but didn't disagree. "In fact, we were talking about that just before you called." He turned Ali to face him and gave her an earnest look, "I really will be fine taking care of the twins alone for a while and, if not, Mum's always happy to pop over and give me a hand."

 

"Not that anyone seems be asking my opinion, but I'd be happy for a night out. I'll leave whenever." Alinora stuck her tongue out at her husband before turning back to see Sara's amused expression. "I can go whenever, as I'm blatantly not accomplishing anything around here!"

 

"I'm ready," Sara began, then stopped as she finally noticed what Ali was wearing; "Humm, maybe you should get changed, then we can leave." she finished with a grin.

 

Ali glanced down at the rather worse for wear outfit she had on and grimaced slightly. "Yes, a change is _definitely_ in order." With that she turned and quickly headed for the bedroom.

 

As the bedroom door closed behind her, Sara turned to George, a questioning look on her face. "What's going on? I've never seen her like this before."

 

George was silent for a moment, wondering how much to explain. "I think it's a combination of things. She's home again, married, had two good friends die and suddenly has two young children to care for. I think she feels this is what she's supposed to be doing, in order to live up to Colin and Anna's faith in her, but she hasn't really been getting out much and she hasn't even been doing much with her music. I think that's what bothers me the most, as that's always been really important to her. So much has happened over the past five to six months and I don't think she's worked out how to live with it all. She needs to understand that she's still 'Alinora' and she still has a right to her own life. Getting out with you is a good start, since you guys use to do this all the time before."

 

"So, the fact that I'm about to take your wife out for a crazy, single-girl's night on the town doesn't bother you?"

 

"As long as you don't go picking up strange men, I think I'm fine with it," George said, grinning at the mischievous look on Sara's face. "I trust that my wonderful wife will handle herself with her normal social aplomb and limit herself to dancing on table tops and singing on any stage that will allow her on it."

 

"You really think I ask for _permission_ before getting on stage?" came Ali's voice from behind them. They turned to see her quietly closing the door to the twins' room, an overnight bag slung over her shoulder and wearing a sleek sheaf dress. The contrast in attire and expression from before was amazing and George was happy to see a familiar twinkle back in her eyes.

 

Ali rejoined then, carefully not commenting on the brief looks of guilt she'd seen on both their faces for an instant. It was obvious that she'd been the topic of conversation, but she couldn't make herself get too upset. She had been in a bit of a slump recently. Okay, maybe **_a bit_** wasn't quite strong enough, but, now that she was aware of it, she was more than willing to go along with their plans to get her away from the house for a while. A change of scene couldn't but help her state of mind.

 

"I'm ready to go if you are," she said nodding at Sara. She turned, threw her arms around George's neck and gave him a long kiss. She whispered a quick "I love you" into his ear before stepping back to link her arm with Sara's. "I'll see you sometime tomorrow, assuming the Girl's Night is over…" With a wink, the two were gone.

 

In the silence of the living room, George stood considering a few options that had come to mind upon hearing Sara's request earlier. Finally coming to a decision, he found some paper and quickly wrote out a few notes which he then gave to Artemis to deliver. Once that was done, he sat down on the couch to wait for any replies.

 

*********

 

George had been waiting for about half an hour before the fire in the fireplace turned green and his sister stepped through.

 

"You know, there are faster ways to get messages out than by owl," Ginny said, shooting him a withering glance.

 

"I knew you'd get the word out once Artemis got to you, so why bother?" he replied with an unrepentant grin, getting to his feet to give her a hug. "So, are the others coming?"

 

"Katie's on her way and you know Mum will be here. Hermione's in class and Ron and Harry are at work. I think Angelina will come, though, as she's about to pop, I don't know how much help she'll be."

 

At that moment, there was a knock on the door and Molly Weasley appeared by floo. George went to open the door for Katie while Ginny gave their mother a hand.

 

"That poor girl!" Molly exclaimed upon seeing George. "Why did you take so long to ask us for help? I am fully aware of how difficult it is to take care of two small infants."

 

"I called as soon as I could, but it's taken until today to finally convince Ali that she wasn't being a horrible person for wanting to get away sometimes and have a life away from 'the family'."

 

Molly looked somewhat mollified, but might have continued had Fred not chosen that moment to Apparate in, carefully supporting a very pregnant Angelina.

 

"'Lo all!" he called out cheerfully. "I've brought my beloved beach ball 'round to keep you all company while I run the business my partner is ignoring today." He gave a grunt of pain as Angelina's elbow connected with his stomach and quickly ducked the baby rattle George had chucked at his head.

 

"Well then, I can see that I'm not wanted, so I'll be off. I'll pick you up this afternoon, dear," he said quietly to his wife, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before Apparating out again.

 

"Well, as it appears everyone's arrived who's coming…" He stopped as knocking was again heard at the front door. Katie, being closest, went to open it, letting in Charlie and Julie.

 

"Have we missed the fun yet?"

 

"Nope, we were just getting started. Glad you could join us. Now then, as I was about to say… Thanks to you all for coming. I know most of you are aware that Ali's been under a lot of stress recently and, now that I finally got her out of the house for the night, I wanted to make sure that everything is nice for her return. As I am a helpless male, I have called in extra help," he said, gesturing broadly at the family and friends sitting around him.

 

After a bit of discussion, Molly headed off to the kitchen to start cleaning in there. She stopped briefly to look at the stain at the wall, muttered something under her breath then, shaking her head in disbelief, left the room.

 

Ginny and Katie shared a look of amusement as they headed off to the master bedroom to begin restoring order there. Julie helped Angelina to her feet and they were off to the babies' room to keep an eye on them and do some straightening up.

 

Finally, Charlie and George were alone in the living room of the flat.

 

"So, what wonderful job have you cooked up for us? You realize that cleaning is not one of my better skills…" Charlie asked, looking curiously at his younger brother.

 

"You really think I'd assign cleaning chores to us with Mum around? We'd never do it to suit her standards, so I'm not going to bother. No, I have another project out back that I'd like your help with. Something that I've wanted to do for a while." He grinned a bit mischievously and the two of them headed outside.

 

*********

 

It had been a very long day, and after his offer to supply dinner for all had been refused, George was happy to collapse on the couch and relax. The twins had been fed and put to bed for the night, the flat was spotless and his surprise out back had worked exactly as planned. Now he only had to wait until Ali came home tomorrow to see everything.

 

He smiled in contentment as he drifted off to sleep. It was nice to be able to finally do something for her after everything she was constantly doing for them.

 

" _I wonder what trouble those two have gotten into today?_ " was his last thought as he finally succumbed to sleep.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 18: Night Out_ **

*********

 

"So, are you really sneaking around the halls of Hogwarts just to spend time with Severus?" Ali asked with a mischievous sparkle in her green eyes.

 

The two were seated near the window of a small café in London, having dropped Alinora's overnight bag off at Sara's flat. They had decided that they needed to refuel a bit before an afternoon of shopping. The waiter had just finished taking their orders and they were simply relaxing with their drinks.

 

Sara looked at her in silence for a moment before smiling broadly. "No," she said with a wink, "I refuse to sneak around like that. You should know that by now! No, I was simply… exaggerating slightly," she continued, "but he is quite determined that his reputation not be improved by any hint of my existence."

 

"Well, that's just a bit obnoxious of him, isn't it? But quite in character, just the same," she added, rolling her eyes slightly.

 

"True, but I knew that going into the relationship and he certainly hasn't let me down over the years! But I really don't want to discuss him today. There will be no further discussions of the men in our lives, only outrageous conversation about any handsome ones we run into while we're out. Agreed?"

 

"Agreed," Ali said, nodding her head in amusement. "Nothing serious; today is for fun only. And just in time, as I think that's our lunch," she finished, spying their waiter approaching with a tray of food.

 

"So, the plan after lunch is for shopping, right? We both need to acquire something new, something different from what we normally wear, for tonight."

 

"Exactly. You need to get something that's not black…"

 

"And you need something that actually covers you up," Sara teased.

 

"If you insist." Alinora stuck out her tongue, and picked up her fork to begin eating. "Better get going, we have a lot to do this afternoon!"

 

The afternoon and early evening passed quickly. The two had done the necessary shopping; each acquiring an outfit approved of by the other, and then had a leisurely dinner before returning to Sara's to get ready for the evening ahead.

 

Alinora, generally a fast dresser, was ready first. She was wearing a sleek, black pantsuit. The top had spaghetti straps and was form fitting around her breasts before flaring out slightly just below. Her pregnancy, barely more than the suggestion of a bulge, was well hidden.

 

Sara appeared a little later, twirling around to flare out the skirt of the short, red dress she was wearing. Sara wore black constantly, so the red was an amazing change and quite a visual shock. Ali whistled appreciatively.

 

"You need to wear red more often," she said, smiling. "So, are we ready now?" At Sara's nod, she continued, "Where are we heading tonight? Same old, same old?"

 

"Of course! What's a Girl's Night without a trip to Reg's Hott Spott? Things should just be heating up there… Are you sure you're up to the disguise charms? We're likely to run into more people who know us there. We could always go someplace else."

 

"I'll be fine. Those sorts of charms I could do in my sleep and I haven't seen Reg in ages!"

 

Sara gave her a considering look before breaking into a wide grin. "Well then, grab your stuff and let's head out! I'm in the mood for some serious dance therapy!"

 

By the time the two had reached the club, located in the middle of a highly populated muggle area, there was a line, stretching down the street, of people waiting to get in.

 

Sara briefly considered whether being unrecognizable would hinder their ability to gain entrance to a place they'd once been known as regulars, but pushed the concern aside as Alinora walked confidently past the line and up to the bouncer at the door.

 

"Phil! It's been ages! How are you? Is Reg in tonight? I swore we'd stop by when we were in town and I'd hate to miss him again! I'm beginning to think the man never leaves Greece anymore, despite supposedly living in London…" Ali talked quickly, gripping the bouncer's arm lightly, before leaning in conspiratorially for her last comment.

 

It wasn't common knowledge, outside the club staff and Reg's close friends, that he had a second home on the coast of Greece and, with that one comment, Alinora marked them as "Important Patrons", whether Phil could remember them or not.

 

With a rumbling, "Reg is in the private parlor tonight," he lifted the velvet rope and let the two women pass.

 

"Thanks, luv!" Sara called over her shoulder as they entered the darkness of the club.

 

After handing their wraps to the coat check girl and collecting their tickets, the two headed for the dance floor. There's a trick to being able to clear a little room for yourself on a crowded dance floor, that can take a while to pick up, but once you have it you never forget and the two easily entrenched themselves into the midst of the sweaty mass of bodies and joined the dance.

 

When time came for a break, they grabbed a drink, did a quick magical touch-up to clear away the worst of their dance induced dishevelment and headed off to look for Reg. He might not know who they were, but he was too good a friend not to check up on.

 

But, he was no longer in the parlor. The bartender told them that he'd gone to check on the live performance taking place in yet another part of the club so, with a smile for his help, they headed off towards the band.

 

Most weekends Reg would have some group in to perform for those that preferred something different to dance to. When they were getting started, **_The Sirens_** had played there on numerous occasions, and they had visited a couple of times, when their schedules permitted, after their popularity had taken off. Tonight's group wasn't anyone Ali had heard of, but they had a good Latin sound and they were fast paced enough to make dancing almost compulsive.

 

Sara led the way across the dance floor, doing a modified form of a conga line- modified in that they were the only two doing it. Others were quick to join on though, so their journey took a bit longer than it normally would, as they twisted their way around the dancers on the floor. She managed to end the line near the corner where Reg was meeting with some of his managers. Not wanting to barge in, they found a spot nearby to watch the band.

 

"They're pretty good," Ali shouted in Sara's ear.

 

Leaning closer, Sara yelled back, "I agree, but Reg has always had good taste in picking bands, so I'm not all that surprised. So," she said, giving Ali a mischievous look, "when are you going to be getting back to performing? I can't believe you've only done one show since September. I know you're 'taking a break', but aren't you going into withdraw by now?"

 

"A bit, I'll admit. I enjoy singing on stage. The energy of the crowd is amazing, but it's also been nice to have a bit of a break too, and with everything else that's happened…" her voice trailed off as her expression darkened slightly, but it quickly returned to a smile. "Maybe I will have to resort to dancing on tabletops to get that need to perform out of my system!"

 

The music had stopped during their conversation and they'd automatically lowered their voices to compensate. Neither had heard anyone approach nor realized anyone was near them until they heard a familiar voice behind them saying, "We don't tend to provide tables for dancers here, but if it would truly make you happy…"

 

Spinning around, Alinora smiled happily at Reg and just stopped short of giving him a hug as she remembered that he wouldn't know who she was.

 

"No need to find a table for me," Sara responded smoothly, giving Ali a chance to recover, "the dance floor is fine! And Ali here prefers the stage to a table, but we didn't figure singing was on the agenda for the evening."

 

"You sing, do you?" Reg asked, turning to look consideringly at Alinora before giving her a puzzled look as if he couldn't quite place the face.

 

Alinora hid her smirk well before responding, "Yes, I have been known to perform in public a time or two…" Sara poked her.

 

Reg still looked as though he couldn't quite figure out if he should know them or not, their instant rapport was confusing him, but he was also a good businessman and known for having made good decisions when it came to his club. He stared at her for a moment, before smiling, cocking his head to the side and giving her a wide grin, "Well now, if you'd like to borrow my stage for a song, you're welcome to. We're about to have an intermission, but I'm sure they," he said, gesturing to the dancers, "would love to hear more. If you think you're up to it…"

 

Sara covered her grin with her hand as Ali simply gestured for Reg to lead the way to the stage.

 

Preceding her out onto the stage, Reg grabbed the mic and cleared his throat to attract the attention of the dancers, some of whom had been heading for the door. "Ladies and Gentlemen, there's been a slight change in the lineup. While our main act is taking a well-deserved break before their next set, we have a guest performer. Let me know what you think and maybe we'll have her back later." With that he returned the microphone to the stand, and left the stage.

 

While he'd been talking, Ali had had a quick discussion with the backup band to decide what they all knew and could perform. With that settled she turned to face the audience and, with a strangely nervous stomach, picked up the mic. "Hello all! I'm happy to be here and I hope you enjoy the performance." Gesturing to the band that she was ready, they immediately started the decided upon song.

 

They'd gone with the Latin theme that had been already started and, after a brief lag while the audience tried to figure out what they thought of the situation, things heated up quickly.

 

Alinora had always enjoyed performing to a crowd. While not an incredibly public person in her private life, when she got on stage she couldn't imagine anything she wanted to do more than make the audience happy and get them enthused about her music. She easily slipped back into that feeling and happily soaked up the enthusiastic response of the people on the dance floor.

 

The song was about over, and the last instrumental break was playing, when Alinora felt the search. Something was looking around the area and she had a sinking feeling that she knew what its target was. Without hesitation, she moved to pick up a hand drum lying close by and began a version of her shielding spell, meant to strengthen and work with the ones she'd put into place earlier that day.

 

She could sense the search flowing around the area, but it didn't seem to be noticing her or Sara as of yet, assuming one of them was the target. She finished up her spell in time to complete the end of the song, but was happy to leave the stage after, refusing Reg's offer of another turn on stage.

 

"Are you sure you won't take another turn? The crowd loved you," he said, trying to be convincing.

 

Ali could tell that her smile was strained, but she was firm in her refusal. "I came here to dance, you know. But I do appreciate the offer. Maybe another night."

 

"Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

 

With another forced smile, Ali turned away to find Sara, who was standing nearby with a concerned expression.

 

Seeing Ali was now free, she hurried over, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, led her into a secluded corner and sat her down at an empty table.

 

"Are you okay?" she asked, noticing Ali start to shake slightly. "Hold on, let me get our coats." Taking the ticket Alinora handed her, she soon returned with their coats.

 

Ali wrapped her's tightly around her shivering form and willed herself to warm up and calm down. It worked slightly; she was a bit warmer now.

 

"Now, what happened? I felt… something, but I couldn't tell what it was."

 

"There was some sort of seeking, I think someone was looking for me," Ali replied, a bit of fear and confusion showing in her expression. "I don't think they were looking specifically _here_ , it was more that they just happened to be looking in this direction when I was here. They didn't find me though, thank goodness."

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"Almost positive."

 

"Well, just to be safe, I think we should be moving on. No reason to press our luck tonight."

 

Sara stood up and gathered up her possessions. Ali slowly did the same and the two were soon headed towards the exit.

 

"Do you want to be heading back now, or are you up to one more stop? I'd originally planned to end the night with a stop at that all-night café that serves the wonderful chocolate items…"

 

Alinora shook off the lingering sense of fear that the spell had given her and pulled up a smile for Sara. "That actually sounds really wonderful. I think a stop there is definitely in order!"

 

They turned to catch a cab and, as Ali's back was turned, Sara quickly sprinkled some dried herbs she'd had stashed in her bag over their path and whispered a quick charm. Ali may be sure she hadn't been discovered, but Sara had promised to make sure nothing happened to her this evening and she wasn't going to go back on that. Breaking their trail at the club was just a safe precaution.

 

A cab slowed by the edge of the street and the women hurried to get in and out of the cold. As they gave the driver directions, Ali grinned mischievously. "So, does that amazingly good looking guy still work the overnight shift there…?"

 

"Oh, yes. Why do you think I made the suggestion?" Sara winked.

 

"Just checking. Sounds like a nice close to the evening."

 

It was midafternoon before Alinora Apparated back to their flat. When she appeared, she found George silently working on a project and no sign of the twins. _Why doesn't it surprise me that he'd get Molly to take care of them with me away?_ She thought to herself with a grin.

 

Walking quietly, she came up behind him and kissed him lightly on the side of his neck.

 

"Welcome home, Ali," George said, turning to pull her down for a hug. "Did you guys have a good time last night?"

 

"It was… quite eventful," she replied with a slight smile, "but a lot of fun, just the same. Things go okay around here?" she asked, finally looking around in pleased surprise as she noticed the spotless living area. "Wow! You've been busy."

 

"I had a bit of help," he replied, smiling. "But I have something to show you out back. Drop your bag and come with me."

 

They exited the house and entered the winter barren fenced back yard. Other than a basically unused potting shed at the far end of the yard, Ali couldn't see any reason for George to bring her out. That didn't stop him though and, taking her arm, he led her to the shed and opened the door for her to enter in before him.

 

Stepping into the shed, Alinora stopped short in surprise as she stared around her. It was like she'd stepped back in time, to her last year at Hogwarts and her first _real_ date with George. Around her stretched a grassy landscape with a small waterfall and pool close by. George gently pushed her forward so he could enter as well, and she slowly took off her coat as she explored the new space.

 

"How…?" she turned to look at her husband in pleased surprise.

 

"I've been working on this for months, but it was taking forever to get the spells to work correctly. Charlie was over yesterday and, between the two of us, we got things working. You like it? I know you've missed having the water nearby…"

 

"Of course I like it! I _love_ it!" she cried happily, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him soundly.

 

Backing up, and smiling seductively, Ali started unbuttoning her shirt. "Care to try it out?"

 

"Well, if you insist…"

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 19: A Letter Home_ **

*********

 

March 21st

 

Hi Mom!

 

It was really nice to hear from you. I'm sorry I haven't written much recently, but my life has been rather dull in recent weeks, with a few exceptions, so I haven't had much cause. As I said, there have been a few exceptions recently, so I decided it was past time to catch you up on the lives of the semi rich and oh-so glamorous!

 

First off, Angie gave birth to her and Fred's first child at the end of February. They are the exceedingly proud parents of a beautiful little girl that they have named Darla. She is the spitting image of her mother, with her dusky skin and dark hair. Fred's been quite gob smacked by the whole experience and is terribly amusing in his total infatuation with his daughter. He's finally managed to tone it back slightly, or at least make it less apparent, so he's no longer such a huge target of (good natured) teasing from his siblings. I have managed to keep George from participating too much by reminding him that he'll be in a similar situation in the not-so-distant future.

 

Speaking of impending changes... we still haven't made any announcement to the rest of the family about my pregnancy. I think Katie is a bit confused by my reticence, as, I'll admit, am I, but I just don't feel comfortable yet about making it public. I don't know why I'm keeping this from everyone, but I think part of it is because they're already being so protective due to their fears that I might be in some sort of danger. If they realized I was pregnant as well, I think they'd lock me in the flat for the next several months! Of course, if they did that, they wouldn't have to worry about anyone else hurting me as I'd have already gone insane being cooped up like that.

 

I'm also still not really showing, but I'm only three to four months along, I think, so I guess that's okay. The morning sickness has all but gone away, which is a nice change. Katie's been keeping an eye on my general health, but I do have an appointment to see my doctor in a couple weeks, after which I guess we'll finally say something to the immediate family.

 

In other news, George's schedule has finally calmed down, now that they've finalized the details and worked out the bugs in the deal with the muggle toy distributor they've been working with. He has been a bit busier recently, due to Fred's recent addition, but it's nowhere near how things were in January!

 

As usual, we celebrated Valentine's Day a bit early in the month. We didn't do anything too exciting, simply dinner at a local restaurant we enjoy and relaxing at home, as Molly had taken Jeffrey and Ariel for the evening. I hate feeling that we're taking advantage of her, but, in all honesty, she'd be quite upset with us if we _didn't_ ask her to help out! Far be it from me to hurt her feelings, or turn down an excellent baby- sitter.

 

The only other bit of recent excitement was the girls only slumber party I hosted last weekend. This actually provided an excellent opportunity for a "guy's night out" as well, which I've carefully not asked about. I trust George not to do anything I'd be upset about, but, as I don't care to have him asking too many questions about our actions that evening, I've managed to refrain from quizzing him about theirs. Am I a great wife, or what? laugh

 

While Molly decided not to attend, all the other invitees were able to come. We had quite the crowd- Ginny, Katie, Angelina, Alicia, Sara, Pansy, Julia, Fleur and Hermione. We set the four children up in the twins' room and camped out in the living room for the night, eating horribly bad food and gossiping about everything under the sun. It was absolutely wonderful! It's been ages since we've been able to get the females together like that, and it's the first time that either Pansy or Julia were in attendance. I have soooo much more ammunition, oops; I mean **_information_** on George now, after hearing all the stories the others remembered over the course of the evening. I haven't laughed that much in months!

 

Not that it's really considered "exciting", but I have also been devoting time each week to working on some new material for the group. George insists that I spend at least one day a week on me and my work. He was really concerned, for a while (with good reason, unfortunately), that "I" was getting lost in everything else I was trying to do or be. Happily, things have improved since then and I really think some of the new songs are quite good, though I might be considered a bit biased. I'll send along copies of them once they're a bit more complete so you can have a listen.

 

The twins are doing well, walking and talking already... okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, though they are babbling quite nicely, if only we had any idea what they were talking about! Other than the bit of a cold they had back in January, they've been very healthy and remarkably cheerful babies. It makes me feel that George and I aren't too shabby as parents. I'll enclose some pictures of them for you to have a look at, as you aren't able to see them as often as I know you'd like.

 

Otherwise, I've been taking it easy, living the life of relaxation I've always wanted... or not. I've actually been doing a bit of reading. During a conversation I had with Severus over the holidays, I was reminded of a book Gerry had found for me years ago, and had the urge to dig it out and re-read it. It's led to some interesting research ideas, which I've been looking into as well. Madam Pince, the Librarian up at Hogwarts, has been most helpful in tracking down some rather obscure reference volumes for me. The whole thing is quite fascinating, though I have no idea what use I'll eventually put it to. It's simply fun to have a new project to focus on for a while.

 

Well, I hear one of the twins starting to fuss- probably Jeffrey as he always gets restless when he's hungry and it's almost time for their next feeding- so I'd better be closing this off. I'd originally hoped to visit this spring, but now I should probably wait until after the baby's born. At least then, you'll get to meet your new grandson or granddaughter at the same time!

 

George sends his love, as do the rest of the family and, as always, myself!

 

Love,

Alinora

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 20: Exposed_ **

*********

 

**_Happy News at Last_ **

 

_It appears that there may be baby news for newlyweds Alinora and George Weasley. The well-known singer and her entrepreneur husband were recently spotted leaving the office of a noted Obstetrician and sources within the office confirm that Alinora is "quite well along" and should be a mommy by late summer._

 

_There has not been any official confirmation from the family and attempts to contact the parents-to-be have been unsuccessful. This will be their first child, though they adopted the two children of Alinora's friend and Manager, Colin Creevey, after his tragic death, along with his wife and brother's family, late last year._

 

"Well, I think we've been well and truly outted," George said in an amused tone, finally putting down the paper Ali had handed him moments before.

 

The article was short, but unfortunately quite noticeable due to the rather large picture accompanying it, showing a smiling Alinora and George leaving the doctor's office where she had finally gone to get confirmation of the pregnancy Katie had informed them of at Christmas.

 

"It's a bit scary that we've heard nothing from the rest of the family; you know Molly reads the paper first thing in the morning."

 

"They're probably waiting until they come over later for dinner. Good thing Mum's probably not wanting to upset the pregnant woman, or we'd have been woken up by a howler this morning and not the twins!"

 

"Would that have really been worse?" Alinora teased, remembering the duet of screams that had been their prompt to get up that morning.

 

"Now that you mention it…"

 

Originally, the two had planned to meet Fred and Angelina for lunch, before having most of the family join them for dinner at their place. Due to the distraction of the newspaper article, they hadn't been able to get things ready for their dinner party and had canceled their lunch plans. They'd been so late in contacting Fred with the change in plans that they'd had to contact them at the restaurant they were to meet at.

 

They were almost done with their straightening up and planning to stop for a bite to eat when a chime announced that someone was trying to contact them via the fireplace. When George answered, they were told that there had been an accident at the restaurant.

 

While Fred and Angelina were okay, they were a bit shaken up by the fact that a rather large and heavy light fixture had crashed down on top of the table they were seated at. The only reason they hadn't been badly hurt, was that they'd just started getting up to leave, having decided to forgo dessert there in favor of an ice cream a bit later on.

 

George and Alinora, who'd quickly joined him at the fireplace once she heard the news, were told not to worry about notifying the rest of the family as Fred had said he'd take care of it.

 

Somehow, that just wasn't very comforting.

 

By the time the rest of the family had arrived for dinner, Alinora had almost convinced herself that the accident that had befallen Fred and Angelina had been simply that, an accident. The fact that she and George had originally been planning to join them there as well, having made the reservations well in advance, was simply an odd coincidence. There was nothing more sinister to it than that.

 

She ignored the fact that she knew she was lying to herself and was grateful to be distracted by the first of their guests and the knowledge that they still had the whole baby news thing to get through as well.

 

Dinner started off smoothly enough, no probing questions or other general interrogation. Molly was giving them both rather sharp looks, but had, so far, restrained from making any actual comments. Alinora wasn't sure if that was really a good sign as the sooner Molly got it out of her system, the better off they'd all be.

 

"Well, I guess you're all wondering why we gathered the family together tonight." George's sudden comment, dropped into a natural lull in the dinner conversation, startled most of them. Smirking slightly, he continued, "I'm assuming by now that you've all read our birth announcement in The Daily Prophet, but if not, I'm sure Mum notified you and questioned you thoroughly about any information you had concerning our pregnancy very early this morning."

 

Ginny muffled a quick laugh, showing a properly solemn face when her mother turned to look at her suspiciously. Charlie wasn't quite so diplomatic, even after Julia elbowed him in the side, and was laughing quite openly. Molly glared at him, but refused to be sidetracked from what she considered the main point, now that the topic had been brought up.

 

"Exactly! How could you two not tell us that you were expecting? I had to read about it in the newspaper! You'd think we weren't family, that it wasn't important for us to be kept informed of the fact that the two of you had decided to have children…" she sputtered into silence, for once, at a loss for words.

 

Ali had had a rough day and an even worse couple months. She was approximately five months pregnant, had lost two enormously close friends and supposedly had someone trying to kill her. Suddenly the thought of trying to placate her generally sweet mother-in-law was just one thing more than she was able to deal with.

 

"I'm sorry, Molly, I guess I simply didn't realize that you'd want to be kept that informed. Just to clarify, for the future you know, how much information do you need? Do we need to tell you every time we perform some sexual act, or simply one that might result in conception? Do you need to know times, dates, locations? Or is the fact that something happened at all going to be enough for you? Because I definitely don't want you to feel that you're not involved in the process! It's not like this is a private matter between my husband and me. How stupid of me not to realize that the entire family was expecting a day to day update on all the details of our private lives. Forgive me for that oversight!" Ali was breathing rather heavily by this point and she could tell her pulse was racing and she forced herself to pause and take a deep breath. The rest of the table was dead silent, with varying looks of shock and amusement plainly showing on their faces. She was a bit afraid to see the expression on George's face.

 

"For future reference, dear," George said, taking her hand under the table, "I don't think they need to know about the oral sex. But, maybe I'm wrong."

 

Alinora's face went beet red and table burst into shocked laughter, Molly sputtering that that certainly was _not_ what she'd meant at all and how she didn't understand why they were all making such a laughing matter out of something this serious.

 

When the laughter had quieted, Ali turned to Molly, still gripping George's hand tightly. "I am well aware of the seriousness of this situation. I am pregnant. This should be a wonderfully joyous time for me and my husband. Instead, I've been the subject, directly and indirectly, of so many _accidents_ that I'm no longer able to keep track of them all! I've had people I love die suddenly and under suspicious circumstances. I've instantaneously become the mother of twins when I'd barely even been married. I've had family members hurt because of their association with me and I'm **_incredibly_** hormonal. Forgive me if getting confirmation that I'm expecting and announcing it to everybody wasn't high on my to-do list." She paused to take another deep breath and smiled ruefully before continuing, "I'm fully aware that my activities are going to be even more curtailed now that you know and I've got the handcuffs waiting to lock myself in the bedroom as soon as you all leave tonight and I expect that I'll be locked up in there until I have the baby or we figure out who, or what, has been targeting me, assuming it's not all just some mass hallucination we're having…" she finished in a mumble

 

"We just want to keep you safe, Ali. I don't know what we'd do if we let something happen to you that we could've prevented!"

 

"I know, Ginny, and that is the only reason I'm dealing with all this as **maturely** as I am." Charlie laughed; Julia elbowed him again, harder. Ali stuck her tongue out at him.

 

"We understand, dear, and we appreciate your humoring us. We know how careful you are, but, now especially, let us help and please do as we ask and stay safe!" Arthur Weasley's eyes were earnest and caring as he stared across the table at her and Ali sighed internally and nodded agreement to the request. _What could it hurt_ she thought, _the doctor had said to avoid stress as much as possible, as it wasn't good for the baby…_

 

Arthur smiled and picked up his fork to continue eating. He'd just swallowed his bite of food when he glanced over at the two of them and asked, "So, what exactly is the purpose of these… handcuffs you mentioned? Some new Muggle invention? They come up with some of the most fascinating things!"

 

Ali began to giggle as she contemplated whether it was worth explaining that the mention of the handcuffs had simply been a figure of speech, or just ignore that in favor of the much more entertaining explanation of what they were, or could be, used for… maybe she'd leave that one for George…

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

##  **_Chapter 21: The Party_ **

*********

 

She'd been correct in thinking the family would be determined to keep her at home and safe. Since the news of her pregnancy had become common knowledge, she'd barely left the confines of the flat to venture any further out than into the backyard. Others in her extended family had been quite diligent in their efforts to keep her amused so that the forced seclusion wouldn't be too painful.

 

During the week, they'd all taken turns stopping by to visit or to run errands, as she was not to leave the flat. While it was sort of nice to not have to do the shopping and other chores, she was to the point where she'd enjoy having to pick up the groceries if it meant she could see someone she wasn't related to for five minutes. Knowing they were doing it for her own good, and for the safety of their unborn child, Ali bit her tongue on the random irritated comments that came to mind on those days when she really didn't think she was going to be able to take it anymore.

 

They were getting quite creative in their ideas for how to entertain her as well. They'd started out as simple visits, with one or more coming by to talk for a while, and then they'd turned into impromptu picnic meals, either in the living room or in the back yard if the weather permitted.

 

Katie and Ginny had even come by a couple of times with the express purpose of practicing some of the new music Ali had been working on, which probably had done the most to brighten her spirits. They still hadn't discussed the future of their group, now that they were all married, and Ali soon to have a litter of children, but unspoken was their agreement that they weren't ready to end things yet. The band had been a good cover for their spying work for the Order, but it was also a job they'd loved for itself, and they were good at it.

 

George had been working at home as much as possible, to keep her company, though he was quick to remember a "meeting" in at the office if he sensed that Ali needed a bit more space and a bit less family togetherness. Somehow, they were all surviving the experience, but Ali did wonder just how long this could continue.

 

The most recent idea that had been developed to distract her had been for them to have a baby shower for her. It was a bit early, they would generally have waited until it was a bit closer to her due date, but Katie was afraid, that with everything going on, Ali was going to unconsciously associate her pregnancy with the seclusion and therefore blame her child for the situation. So, all the female friends and family, as well as any male brave enough to attend, had been invited to Ali and George's flat to celebrate their upcoming addition to the family.

 

When not being 'baby sat' by her family, Ali had once again began reading over the spell book her "uncle" Gerry had given her years before. Since her conversation with Severus over Christmas, she'd been periodically pulling it out and rereading it. His insistence that the spells within it were too dangerous to be used had sparked her curiosity and she kept studying it, trying to figure out why the wizarding world was so opposed to them. They could be dangerous, but so could so many other minor charms that any first year was taught, if used in the wrong situation.

 

This time she'd spent a more in-depth period studying how some of the more advanced spells worked. The one that had caught her attention this time around was a spell simply called **_Videre Vere_** , to See Truth. She'd been fascinated with it for the past couple days and had finally almost worked out how it worked. She was sure Severus wouldn't be pleased. Considering the mood she was in, she was certain that she didn't really care.

 

Being stuck at home so much, only leaving to travel directly to the homes of friends and family, hadn't done much to improve her mood and she'd found she was getting increasingly irritated at minor things. Today had been the worst so far, so much so that George had taken the twins out, after the house was ready for guests, to give her some time to relax before the invasion began. Alinora had taken a long bath, spent a leisurely amount of time getting ready and had finally settled onto the couch with a book, hoping that her mood would improve before the party began.

 

She soon realized that reading wasn't helping either and, flinging the book down on the couch beside her, she got up to begin pacing around the room. She just felt prickly, uncomfortable in her own skin. She placed her hand over her slightly expanded waist and considered whether her pregnancy was the cause. After a moment she removed her hand with a light caress, quite sure that, despite it all, she was not at all upset about the idea of having a baby. She was quite looking forward to it, if she was honest about it.

 

Having settled that, she convinced herself to put away the irritating thoughts that filled her mind and try to enjoy the day. After all, her friends were coming to celebrate with her, why shouldn't she enjoy it? She smiled and put on some music to listen to while she waited.

 

A little while later, as she was clearing up her notes and preparing for her guests to arrive, she heard a knock on the front door. Peering through the peep hole, she could see the black clad figure of Professor Snape standing outside, staring at something on the ground. Grinning broadly, Ali opened the door.

 

"Severus! I didn't know you were coming for the shower! You're a bit early though." She grinned at the fleeting look of horror and fear that crossed his face at her mention of attending a baby shower. She looked down and realized what he must have been staring at. Piled on the doorstep were a number of packages, most emblazoned with the name of one or another store specializing in baby supplies. Gifts for the upcoming baby shower.

 

"I think not, my dear Mrs. Weasley. I would rather have my eyes gouged out with hot pokers than sit here and listen to a bunch of women talk about… babies and the _joys_ of child birth." He shuddered.

 

Ali laughed, the first time days she'd felt that amused, and carefully knelt down to begin picking up the various boxes stacked on the doorstep. Severus quickly joined her, picking up the last few before following her into the house. Ali started putting the gifts she held down on the dining room table with the others that had come previously.

 

"So, why did you come today then, Severus, if you weren't accepting our invitation to the baby shower?" She looked over at him quizzically as she took the first package he handed her and placed it on the table. He hesitated for a moment before handing the next to her; then he began to speak.

 

"I heard some disturbing news that I think might concern you and your recent problems," he paused and handed her the next box, "I was visiting a store yesterday that deals in less than savory magical items. I had remembered seeing a familiar piece of jewelry on my last visit, but it was gone this time. I questioned the proprietor about it, but all he could tell me was that it had been purchased some months back by a wizard who mentioned that it resembled a family heirloom that had been lost a couple years ago and that he'd hoped to find again."

 

He handed the next to last package to Alinora, who was staring at him in confusion. "I know what this item was. It was a broach, used by Voldemort's followers to report back to him. I never wore one, I was not high enough in rank, but I know a number of those who did and they said that through it Voldemort could see everything they did and for those who knew the secret of how they worked, it would do something similar. Most were destroyed when their owners were caught and imprisoned; a few disappeared with their owners after Voldemort's defeat. I only know of one that disappeared in the possession of someone who might have family to recognize and look for it…"

 

Ali was in the act of reaching for the last box when a random thought caused her to draw back her hand. She placed it on her head, fingers massaging her forehead as she struggled to remember something. Her stomach was churning and it was hard to concentrate. "Severus, what did this thing look like?" she asked, breaking into his explanation.

 

"It was a golden eye with a smaller black eye within instead of a normal pupil. Why do you ask?"

 

"I've seen one before, somewhere. I just can't remember where exactly it was. It had to have been quite a while ago though," she said, reaching again for the final box.

 

"It was, if you saw the one I think you did. Its wearer died years ago. In fact you were there when he died."

 

Just as her fingers touched the last of the boxes Severus had brought in for her, she realized who he had to be referring to, Lucius Malfoy. And he certainly had family who could be looking for family 'heirlooms'.

 

"Dra…" she began when suddenly her stomach twisted again, but much more severely. Ali looked at Severus in shock as she felt the pull of a portkey tear at her insides. By the look on his face, Severus was as surprised as she was and she had only a moment more before the room around her swirled away and was replaced by darkness.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~


End file.
